Major publicly funded ON school board voted not to raise Pride flag during pride month
It’s time we defund the Catholic School Board because public dollars shouldn’t go to institutions (or politicians) who deny the existence and/or rights of all people in the public.
York Catholic District School Board is comprised of about 85 Elementary and 16 Secondary schools across York Region's nine municipalities, (Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Whitchurch-Stouffville, and King Township).
It shares a region with YRDSB, meaning many schools within walking distance of each other will have different policies on if the Pride flag should be raised.
Wait, why does Canada have a publically funded Catholic School System in addition to a secular (non-religiously affiliated) system?
What happened to the whole "separation of church and state" thing?
Also given the Catholic Church's role in residential schools, should they really have an entire school board system to influence, indoctrinate and mould children?
Shouldn't all those schools in York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) be folded into York Region District School Board (YRDSB)?
There are probably substantial role duplications. If we eliminated this second school board system, it would free up money that we allocate to other things - like early childhood development, breakfast programs, etc.
Why do we pretend Canada is multicultural when one school board is publically funded and secular and the other is grounded in Catholicism but still publically funded?
Wait, why does Canada have a publically funded Catholic School System in addition to a secular (non-religiously affiliated) system? — we’re so glad you asked.
In Canada, the Catholic school board system exists because of a constitutional provision for publically funded Catholic schools that can be traced back to historical agreements and treaties between the British and French governments from the 1700s.
Remember, the French eventually gave their stolen territory to the British, which resulted in British North America, and then USA and Canada.
– can we take a second to pause here to reflect and rage about how the treaty rights of the French colonizers were upheld by British colonizers/Canada, but the treaty rights of Indigenous peoples were and are not upheld in Canada to this day?!?
So why do we still have publically funded Catholic School Boards?
We've (imperfectly) done away with many systems and beliefs white people had in the 1700s, for example we've abolished slavery, women aren't property anymore, our understanding of science has significantly grown, and even the Pope says Gay is OK – so why are we still keeping a publically funded catholic school board operational in Canada?
Especially considering that present-day France - as in one of our OG colonizers - only has publically funded secular (non-religious) schools.
As in France doesn't have publically funded Catholic Schools, but CANADA still does.
Meaning despite having a long history of violating treaties - particularly with Indigenous peoples whose land we currently live on - this particular treaty with the French is the one we've decided to uphold. Not cute Canada.
If YCDSB won't raise the Pride Flag, it feels safe to assume that 2SLGBTQQIA+ children aren't going to schools that allow them to feel safe, valued, celebrated and seen, and this is the real sin.
We're sure there are individual teachers and/or schools fighting the good fight and showing up for QTBIPOC lives (if it isn't intersectional, it doesn't count bud) - but a kid shouldn't have to hope that their teacher values their full self, they should be guaranteed a teacher and school that doesn't think their existence is an abomination.
Especially when the only abomination here is the weaponizing of an all-loving higher power (by the far-right movement, white supremacists, bigots) to police the lives of young people who dare to exist as their full selves.
It's 2023 and raising the Pride flag for 30 days during the month of June has been debated, and the anti-Pride people won.
People often talk about how pride started as a protest, and we're here to tell you that we're still in that protest stage, because Queer and Trans lives, rights and freedoms are currently under attack in CANADA.
In a few days, everything rainbows are going to be everywhere, but don't let that trick you into thinking we've achieved #progress.
Until we live in a country where queer and trans BIPOC and white people can live full lives without discrimination and oppression, the fight is not over.
Dear People Living in Canada,
For the last couple of years, we have, in real-time, been watching America fight for the soul of its nation as an already inequitable nation (like Canada). Americans have seen more and more of their rights stripped away. What Canadians continuously fail to realize is that we are also in a battle for the soul of our nation and the rights of our people.
The Great Canadian Fallacy is the belief that things could be worse because we could be America. This belief is not only unequivocally false, it also harms Canadians by lulling us into a state of complacency which allows for more division and hate to spread in Canada while we look at America in pity and horror.
We must look at stuff happening in America as a Canadian #SpoilerAlert, because if it can happen in America, it can/has/will/is happening in Canada.
Join us in being vigilant, and fighting for our rights by joining our Social Good Crew.
Your friends,
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