The Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board voted in new changes to its flag policy at its April meeting. Some background: in 2021 the board agreed to fly the Pride flag outside the board office and inside schools, but not outside schools.

But problems arose because of that policy. There was a disturbance at a board Remembrance Day event in November 2023. A student marched in an official capacity with a Pride flag during that event, prompting a local Catholic group to threaten to leave the event. In the months following revisions were introduced to the board’s flag policy in the by-law/policies review committee.

You can read the draft policy in the April 2024 board minutes, pp. 110-116 here. 

A DPCDSB trustee brought forward a motion to accept the revised flag policy at the April 16 meeting of the board. It was passed unanimously by trustees and approved by the committee of the whole on April 23.

The original policy stated that the National flag of Canada is to be flown on a single pole outside schools. The new policy reiterates this and a second provision that the Vatican flag (the new policy adds the ShareLife flag), and flags of the provinces and territories can be shown at the interior entrance to the school.

In two new changes that seem to have been instigated as damage control for the events that unfolded at the Remembrance ceremony, the policy restricts the flags that can be flown at Remembrance events to the National flag of Canada and those that can be flown at liturgical events to the National flag and flags associated with the Catholic faith.

So, can the Pride flag be flown in any circumstances? Worryingly, s. 2.2.8 [later changed to 2.6] appears to provide a loophole for it to be flown outside schools. That new addition to the policy says that that other flags can be flown at the direction of the Director. In the Durham Catholic board, where Pride flags are flown rampantly, the Director makes use of a similar clause to condone flying the Pride flag, as PAFE delegates pointed out during a presentation to that board this week.

In another new addition, flags that espouse causes such as Pride can be displayed inside discrete areas of the schools, such as during meetings of school clubs, but they must be removed after the meeting is concluded.

The exact wording of this point is: “Additional flags may be displayed inside DPCDSB buildings in support of particular observances. Where such flags are displayed, their use shall be limited to the areas of the school or facility allocated to the activities associated with the corresponding observance and shall be removed when the observance period ends.”

If you are a Dufferin Peel Catholic supporter, please spread the word about these policy changes as they haven’t been reported in the press at all.

Ultimately the new policy allows the Director to have the final say as to whether the flag will fly. It remains to be seen whether the Director will condone the Pride flag being flown or enforce sanctions on schools that fly it.

ACTION ITEM:

If you are a DPCDSB supporter, please do everything you can to push for enforcement of sanctions against schools flying or displaying the Pride flag. Ask your children whether the Pride flag is being flown at their school as we approach June 1.

If you hear of such a school, please notify trustees that a violation of the new flag policy is taking place. Please let us know here at PAFE if you receive an answer.

If you want to write to trustees to report a Pride flag being shown at a school, please write to them in a block:

[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]

If you wish to write to individual trustees, here is their contact info:

Darryl Brian D'Souza
Brampton Wards: 2, 5 & 6
416-528-8515
[email protected]

Brea Corbet
Mississauga Wards 9 & 10
905-301-9373
[email protected]

Herman Viloria
Mississauga Wards 2 & 8
416-452-9345
[email protected]

Anisha Thomas
Brampton Wards 1, 3 & 4
437-215-1676
[email protected]

Paula Dametto-Giovannozzi
Caledon/Dufferin
416-570-5087
[email protected]

Luz del Rosario
Mississauga Ward 6 & 11
416-528-6447
[email protected]

Shawn Xaviour
Brampton Wards 7-10
416-528-9622
[email protected]

Bruno Iannicca
Mississauga Ward 7
905-270-0536
[email protected]

Stefano Pascucci
Mississauga Ward 4
416-508-5543
[email protected]

Thomas Thomas
Mississauga Ward 5
905-601-4345
[email protected]

Mario Pascucci
Mississauga Wards: 1 & 3
905-302-3096
[email protected]