A rally was held outside the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School (GSCS) board building Thursday in response to a leaked email instructing teachers to keep their students away from a rainbow tent at the Nutrien Children’s Festival.
Jamey Hughton, participant in the rally and Saskatoon Public School teacher, said the email from the Catholic school board was “completely unacceptable”.
“(Young people) have to feel like they are supported, they are wanted, they are part of society, and gay and trans people, lesbian people, 2SLGBTQ+ people are part of society. We have to embrace that and welcome it with open arms,” Hughton said.
Patti Rowley, a retired high school teacher from Saskatoon, said the email from GSCS marginalizes queer youth.
“Actively excluding part of your community is not only hurtful but harmful and dangerous and I think the apology is just words so let’s take some next step and some actions,” Rowley said.
“Nothing has changed even though they say they are doing more dialoging and next-stepping and everything,” Rowley said. “I’m not sure that is happening this year.”
GSCS director of education Francois Rivard attended the rally and acknowledged that the email had broken trust between the division and the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
“There are lots of you that are angry,” Rivard said over shouts from the public. “I’m looking forward in continuing to meet with people and connect with people and commit to the professional learning of our staff and how to support students.”
During Rivard’s speech, Rowley asked if he was going to retract his statement and allow the teachers and students to visit the rainbow tent, which gained a round of applause and cheers from the other protesters.
He didn’t say whether or not he would retract his statement, only that he is currently trying to respond to messages he has received over the last few days.
“I don’t have another statement at this point,” Rivard said. “We know we are not there yet and need to continue to grow.”
The “Rally Against Bigotry,” according to a poster on the SURJ YXE Facebook page, stated, “We stand firmly against any queerphobia/transphobia in our communities and call for the removal of any staff or board members in our publicly funded school systems who hold such discriminatory beliefs.”
At the festival Thursday, drag performer China White said the festivities are about culture, acceptance, and love.
“It’s really important for kids at an early age to see differences, be it religion, be it ethnically, culturally, and we are a subset of the community around here and we deserve to be heard and a lot of these kids at an early age need to feel that they have the right to be heard and have a safe place to come,” White said.
White said that acceptance has taken steps backwards as of late.
“Look at the hate that is just spewing lately and it’s coming from south of the border and even in our own country and this isn’t who we are. We have reverted back to what we were when I was fighting years ago… I’ve heard some pretty horrible stuff said to us that I’ve never heard before and they are hiding behind computer screens and phones.”
The GSCS school division received backlash on social media from parents and community groups after the email was leaked and paint was thrown at the building over the weekend.
OUTSaskatoon responded with a community-initiated campaign to send 100 “Love Thy Neighbour” t-shirts to GSCS.
In anticipation of the rally Thursday, Saskatchewan Minister for Education Dustin Duncan commented on the leaked email, saying he supported the divisions decision.
“I don’t think anyone is saying ‘don’t take your children’, I think it’s just a matter that as part of a school trip it just wasn’t something that was being advised and it really does get back to involving parents in terms of the decision of how they engage their own children with some of these topics,” Duncan said.
“They are well within their rights to make this decision, and frankly, I think most parents would agree with ensuring parents are involved in when and where and in what context some of these conversations take place with children.”
GSCS had apologized for the leaked email before the rally, with Rivard saying the school division welcomes members of the 2SLGBTQ community.
“The development of the human person and interpersonal relationships are topics that must involve families. We honour parents and caregivers as first and primary educators of their children. Families who send their children to Catholic schools have a reasonable expectation that the education their children receive is consistent with Catholic teachings and is age-appropriate. Therefore, parents and caregivers are best positioned to decide on their children’s participation in this programming within the festival,” wrote Rivard.
“As a school division, we continue to welcome members of the 2SLGBTQ community. We are committed to true dialogue in order that we may pastorally serve each family based on their unique needs. We strive to build positive relationships with all students. It is not only our imperative as educators, it is our call as Catholics to recognize the inherent, god-given dignity of all persons.”
Kseniah Pidskalny, Pride centre coordinator at the University of Saskatchewan, said students without supportive families will often turn to their school for a sense of community.
“To have a school that is supportive is so, so important,” Pidskalny said. “It doesn’t end in youth. We make it, we survive and it is so incredibly important for that to exist especially amongst the trans community, it is so important to see that there is older representation throughout it.
“It’s not just within a small circle, it is so much farther.”
The University of Saskatchewan and other schools around the province raised flags to celebrate the first day of Pride month Thursday.
“Take June as an opportunity to learn, to watch the community, to take into account, to make space for them,” said Pidskalny.
A list of Saskatoon Pride events for the month of June can be found here.
— with files from Global News’ Brody Langager