Waterloo Catholic school board trustees vote against proposed flag ban motion
More trustees were against the motion in a close 5-4 vote
It was a close decision, but Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) trustees voted down a controversial motion to ban many flags from school properties.
Silence fell over the board room at the Catholic Education Centre Monday evening as the motion was voted down with five trustees voting against the proposed motion while four others voted in favour.
The motion was put forward by trustee Conrad Stanley and if passed, would only allow Canada, Ontario or school board flags to fly or be displayed on WCDSB properties.
This would mean the Pride flag, which has been flown at Waterloo Catholic schools since June 2021, would need to come down.
This sparked outrage from people, specifically those who are part of or support the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
After hearing concerns from peers and students, Stanley began the meeting by handing out an amended motion. The revised document took out any specifics regarding the Pride flag and said students would be permitted to continue expressing themselves freely.
Board Chair Renee Kraft said the motion's changes were significant and although she said she appreciated the effort Stanley made following the feedback he received, the original motion would be voted on.
As attendees left the building following the decision, people could be seen crying tears of joy and hugging one another while clad in colourful clothing, showing support to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
"It means that those kids will now be able to be themselves in our schools. They're able to express themselves to their teachers. The teachers can be there to support whatever is it they're dealing with on a daily basis and that's what the teachers have been about all along," said Patrick Etmanski, local President of the Ontario English Catholic Teacher's Association.
However, it wasn't a joyous occasion for everyone in attendance.
Gary Alford was in favour of the motion and waited to hear the verdict because, although he has a brethren baptist background, he said his son will be graduating this summer to be a Catholic priest.
"What really strikes me is our soldiers fought for our flag, they died for it and it gave freedom to everyone," Alford said. "Now we're being told as of tonight that this school board thinks that isn't enough."
Earlier protest
Prior to the evening trustee meeting, some Catholic school students in Kitchener walked out of class Monday afternoon to protest the proposed motion.
The few dozen students who walked out of class Monday gathered in front of Kitchener's city hall ahead of the meeting.
"It's so important for us to have diversity and to have representation of that diversity in our schools," said Raven Leach, a Grade 12 student at St. David C.S.S.
The Catholic board first raised the Pride flag in June of 2021. It was a something Leach described as "a really big moment."
"It showed us that the Catholic view was that we were accepted. Maybe they didn't agree with it, but we were still accepted as people, as who we are," Leach told CBC News, adding if the board takes the Pride flags down, they're "taking away that message."
Aliyah Pooran is a former student at St. David C.S.S. and she said she's protesting for the rights of her younger siblings who are still in the Catholic school system.
"There are other kids like me in the schools. They can't even express themselves, they don't have the words or the capacity to understand who they are and that can be really scary," Pooran said.
According to trustee Stanley's motion, there is "no need not reasonable justification" for political or identity-based flags.
The motion had sparked protests and counter protests ahead of trustee meetings at the Catholic Education Centre in downtown Kitchener.
Those who supported the potential motion said it aligned with Catholic values.
"We just want to uphold those fundamental values of God that is family and then the procreation in the marriage," said Joshua Hayek, a devoted Catholic and ratepayer who has attended the counter protests.
"We're afraid of losing our school system because once all of these different ideas come in, eventually it'll be secularized and they'll just go public."
However, those against the policy said it felt like a personal attack on the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
"I, myself am Christian, have been raised Christian, my whole family is Christian but I am also queer," Leach explained. "Hearing people use religion as an excuse to hate others has been really hard because Jesus calls us to love everyone."
Chair Renee Kraft said they had seeked a legal opinion on how to proceed.
"I think moving forward, we've got to focus on unity and what unites us," Chair Kraft told CBC K-W during an interview on The Morning Edition.
"We need to figure out what we're doing with this and hopefully put it to rest and then propel ourselves forward, focusing on the things that unite us."
Meeting location
With large protests being held outside prior to the past two meetings, people once again gathered outside the Catholic Education Centre.
Monday's election also brought additional people to the area as there was a polling station in the same plaza.
There were concerns about disrupting voters at the polling station, so the board had planned to move the trustee meeting to Resurrection Catholic Secondary School.
But on Tuesday, the board said that "due to an oversight in the director's office" the meeting would be moved back to the Catholic Education Centre as originally scheduled.
Board leadership
Kraft is new to the position after it was announced trustee Robert Sikora had stepped down from the position at the end of last month.
He was replaced briefly by trustee and vice-chair Linda Cuff on an interim basis. Then Cuff put her name forward to serve as chair and tied with fellow trustee Renée Kraft for the role. The position ultimately went to Kraft after names were drawn from a hat to break the tie.
After Kraft was named chair, Cuff stepped down from her role as vice-chair of the board. Both Sikora and Cuff continue to serve as trustees.
During Monday's meeting, trustee Tracey Weiler was nominated and named vice chair of the board.
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