If Emily Hume-Powell had her way, every local public school would be seeing double.
The Cookstown resident is expressing her displeasure with the way the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) has handled the display of Canadian and other flags representing the Every Child Matters and Pride causes over the course of June.
Hume-Powell stresses she’s supportive of important events like Pride Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day. But as someone whose family has deep roots in military service, she reveres the Canadian flag and considers its removal “downright insulting.”
“There are issues that need recognition — that’s not my problem at all,” she said. “The point is taking down the national flag to replace it with anything else is unpatriotic, from my point of view. As the wife of a veteran, the granddaughter of a veteran, the daughter of a veteran … I’m just trying to understand what the rationale is.”
And she’s offering a simple solution employed by her neighbouring Cookstown Central Public School recently — just erect a second pole.
“As Canadian citizens, we really need to take a stand and say how important it is to bring back the original symbol of inclusion and belonging, our national flag,” Hume-Powell said, noting she does not have school-age children. “With such division and controversy in today’s society, it’s hard for me to sit back and just let things happen when a simple step can help rectify our differences. It’s such an easy fix; it’s not going to break the budget. A second pole is not hard to get. If you don’t have a second flag pole, fly it elsewhere — but you don’t take down the Canadian flag to replace it with anything."
Citing federal government protocol, Hume-Powell also doesn’t want another flag flying directly underneath the Canadian one.
Hume-Powell came forward after students at an Orillia high school told OrilliaMatters, an affiliate of BradfordToday and InnisfilToday, about incidents of bullying that occurred once that school replaced the Canadian flag with a Pride flag.
Last year, SCDSB education director John Dance told OrilliaMatters every school is expected to fly the Canadian flag on its pole by itself. However, there is a provision that, at the discretion of the director of education, other flags may replace the Canadian flag to recognize certain events.
“The challenge we have is when we wish to fly (another) flag, the protocol for flying the Canadian flag is that it does not share a pole,” he said.
In 2022, the Pride flag was flown at the public board’s administration building in Midhurst for the first time.
Assistant manager of communications Jamie Campbell said in a recent statement the board is “committed to creating a culture of belonging for all students and staff and providing environments that are inclusive and free from discrimination.”
“The SCDSB values inclusive learning and working environments that promote the principles of acceptance. To support these commitments, all schools and worksites in the SCDSB will raise the Progressive Pride flag and Every Child Matters flag at specific times during the month of June to align with Pride Month, National Indigenous History Month, and National Indigenous Peoples Day.
“Raising the Progressive Pride flag in June aligns with Pride Month and is one action we take to demonstrate support and acceptance for members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community,” says the statement.
It’s important to note, too, that not every resident feels the Canadian flag represents an inclusive society.
UPlift Black’s Honey Johnson, speaking as an individual and not as a representative for the advocacy group, told InnisfilToday during an Intersex Progress Pride flag raising held outside Innisfil Town Hall earlier this month that they believe the Canadian flag “should come down” at schools during times of recognition.
“We’re in a fight,” Johnson said. “That representation, that (Pride) flag should be held high on its own. We already know we’re in Canada. Canada is not a place known for a lot of great things. Having that Pride flag up there … to me, it should be up there by itself.”
Town hall has numerous poles, meaning the Canadian and Pride flags fly side by side.
Meanwhile, Innisfil Pride’s Jake Tucker referenced a letter sent by his organization to the Simcoe County and Simcoe Muskoka Catholic district school boards recently. In it, the group supported federal protocol, and noted the Canadian flag holds a “significant place” of honour, must be flown on its own mast and should not be taken down to be replaced by the Pride flag.
“Currently, the practice of replacing the Canadian flag with the Pride flag has caused division among the Pride community, the straight community and the religious community,” the letter reads. “This division is neither productive nor acceptable.”
While Canada has a “history of not great things,” it is a “country of progress, a country that is fairly accepting,” Tucker said.
“Everybody has their own opinions,” they said. “Without the Canadian flag, we couldn’t do the things we do.”
The request to the school board to fly the Progressive Pride flag came through its diversity, equity, and inclusion department based on feedback received from students and staff. To support that, the Progressive Pride flag was raised at all SCDSB schools and facilities from May 31 to June 10.
The Canadian flag then flew from June 10 to 14.
Following that, the Every Child Matters flag was raised between June 14 and 24.
And the Canadian flag has flown from June 24 onward.
Campbell’s statement cited the board’s 2020-21 student census, where almost 23 per cent of students in grades 7 to 12 identified as 2SLGBTQI+ or questioning, and more than five per cent of the student population self-identified as Indigenous. As well, many staff identify as one or more of those groups.
“The SCDSB will continue to bring our communities together through educational programs and other activities. The raising of the Progressive Pride and Every Child Matters flags, while respecting the Canadian flag protocols, signals to our community that our schools are safe spaces for all people to be themselves,” the statement reads.
— With files from Tyler Evans and Jessica Owen
