Petawawa, Ont. to fly Pride flag, support other causes after overturning resolution
The town of Petawawa, Ont. is set to fly the Pride flag for the first time ever this summer.
The decision was made Monday night when council overturned Resolution 11, a rule established in 1998 that stopped the town from making any public proclamations.
"It's a great day for Petawawa and our community," said mayor Gary Serviss.
"This lets it be known that Petawawa is a welcoming, respectful, caring community."
Serviss has previously tried and failed to eliminate the rule in his eight years on council.
"I've heard it characterized as the do-nothing approach," said Lisa Coutu, town councillor and chair of Petawawa's equity, inclusion, and diversity committee.
"It's not neutral to do nothing in a situation where that symbol is so important."
The change now opens the door for the town to fly flags in support of other groups and organizations.
"'Every child matters' flags or for May 5, the Day of Action for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women; I can imagine those sorts of actions," Coutu tells CTV News.
Any flags will fly at a designated ceremonial flagpole located at the Petawawa Civic Centre.
The pole will only be used to fly such flags to ensure no one flag comes down for another.
For Petawawa resident and local high school teacher Jennifer Neville, it is a sweet success, as she has been lobbying the town's council to drop the resolution for two years.
"It's very frustrating, especially when you see other communities fly the flag. Pembroke flies the flag, Deep River flies the flag, everywhere around us has been flying the Pride flag, Indigenous flags."
She says her school has been flying the Pride flag for some time already, making the contingent of students at the school who are part of the LGBTQ2S+ community feel welcome.
"They can feel comfortable and safe and accepted. And so it's very nice to see."
Petawawa will hoist the Pride flag June 16, which will be the official start of the town's inaugural Pride event.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.