For True Inclusivity, School Boards Should Only Promote the Canadian Flag

A view outside York Catholic District School Board headquarters in Aurora, Ont., on May 29, 2023, when the board voted not to fly the pride flag. (Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times)

Commentary

York Catholic District School Board’s (YCDSB) decision not to fly the pride flag this June is the right decision. It should be the same for all public schools, and all government and municipal properties. Why?

For the simple reason that the only flags that truly represent all Ontarians without controversy are Canadian, provincial, or applicable municipal flags.

Given the maximal inclusivity that is claimed to be the goal of the public education system, no flag should be flown at schools unless it does in fact represent all Canadians.

The furor in some quarters over one school board (out of 72) not flying a pride flag is overblown, but more so, it is evidence that flying flags other than the Canadian flag can create division and controversy.

Flying the pride flag on public buildings is divisive. Related at least in part to an organized walkout in protest of Pride Month, some Ontario schools reportedly had absence rates as high as 30 percent on June 1.

The fact that up to 30 percent of parents feel uncomfortable enough about Pride Month to keep their children home at significant inconvenience to themselves indicates that the flag does not universally represent all Canadians.

If there is a hint of controversy or sectarianism to a flag it shouldn’t be flown on public buildings. Few flags will reach that standard which is why only the Canadian flag should be flown at Ontario schools (along with provincial or municipal flags if additional poles exist).

There is no flag more representative of Canadians than the Canadian flag. There is no flag more appropriate to fly at Canadian schools. The idea that not flying a pride flag is an attack on LGBTQ people is the same as saying that I am in league with Russia for not flying a Ukrainian flag at my house.

Many schools have only one flagpole, and when other flags are flown on the flagpole, the Canadian flag should be taken down during that time per official etiquette rules. When the Canadian flag is lowered, it has created controversy on its own.

I agree with many parents that it is unacceptable that the Canadian flag should be replaced—even for only a week here and there—by a less inclusive flag.

As for why the pride flag might be divisive to some parents, there are several possible reasons. The flag is associated with a nucleus of sometimes conflicting ideas positing that:

1. There is an unlimited number of genders that can be adopted at will by a student;
2. Gender identity is fluid;
3. Sexuality is fixed and never changes;
4. Sexuality is fluid;
5. Your sexual and gender identities and proclivities are the core of who you are;
6. Any consensual sexual activity or proclivity whatsoever should be explored and celebrated;
7. You can be a different gender than your birth sex suggests, and if you are born in the ‘wrong body’ you should explore gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and even sex-change surgery which will surgically modify your private parts to look like another gender.

These ideas are not universally accepted by Canadians and should not be promoted at school.

A recent CDC report from the United States notes that one in four high school students identifies as LGBTQ (25 percent). This is more than double the rate of LGBTQ identification in 2015 for high school students. A survey in B.C. found similar results.

There is no doubt teaching kids the ideas listed above has had an impact on this meteoric rise.

There are some additional reasons why parents and specifically Catholic school boards might not want the pride flag flown:

1. It’s associated with pride marches which can contain hedonism, nudity, and promiscuity;
2. It’s associated with displays that mock Christianity and Catholicism, such as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (cross-dressing “nuns” invited to a recent Major League Baseball team for Pride Month)
3. It’s associated with principles mentioned above that are diametrically opposed to Catholic teaching (that there are a multiplicity of genders for example).

Promoting ideological conformity on the sexual front is not appropriate in Canada, especially not in our public schools.

York Catholic District School Board was right not to fly the flag, and other boards should follow suit.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.