Petawawa will fly Pride flag for the first time this June

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PETAWAWA — The Town of Petawawa will fly the Pride flag for the first time this June after council overturned a decades-old ‘no proclamations’ resolution during a meeting on May 15.

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Before a packed gallery, town council unanimously passed a series of motions rescinding a standing resolution that disallowed the municipality from declaring any public proclamation except those pertaining to matters completely within the mandate of council. This kept the town from flying the Pride flag, among others. Known has Resolution #11, it was passed by council on Feb. 3, 1998, and in recent years had become controversial, dividing council. Previous attempts to rescind it, including one in 2021, had failed.

“After two years of careful planning, it was great to see our goal finally realized,” Mayor Gary Serviss said. “I firmly believe that Petawawa is a progressive, modern and caring community. I also firmly believe that Petawawa is a welcoming, tolerant and inclusive community. Petawawa is on the right track.”

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Serviss praised the town’s new Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee for working on the motion and Coun. Lisa Coutu for bringing forth the motion to reconsider.

“It was heartwarming to hear council’s thoughtful comments and it was an honour to see a unanimous vote to reconsider and a unanimous vote to rescind Resolution #11 as well as a unanimous vote to move forward with a community flag policy,” Serviss continued.

The new community flag policy comes along with a designated community flag pole by the Kinhut on the Petawawa Civic Centre grounds. The sole purpose of that flag pole is to fly ceremonial flags while preventing the town from having to lower any of its traditional flags to accommodate a ceremonial or community flag.

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The mayor said rescinding Resolution #11 gave Petawawa an opportunity to recognize community groups and their successes and hard work.

“It will allow Petawawa to support meaningful endeavours and charitable campaigns as well as the ability and choice of raising community flags,” Serviss said.

Coutu, who brought forward the motion to reconsider, said she was very pleased that the vote to rescind the resolution was unanimous.

“I was confident that we had enough votes, but it was wonderful to see that there was no one opposed. The vote was an amazing moment and very heartening for those in the 2SLGTBQ+ community who were in attendance,” the first-term councillor said. “There have been many efforts over the years to change Petawawa’s proclamation bylaw over the years, however they failed because previous councilors were more comfortable with a ‘do nothing’ approach. This approach is not appropriate because we cannot build a safe and inclusive community without taking action. It is important that the town demonstrates its commitment to diversity and inclusion.”

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High school teacher and Petawawa resident Jennifer Neville had been lobbying town council to rescind Resolution #11 for a few years and was there in person at the meeting to see her goal achieved.

“It was very gratifying that council voted unanimously to overturn (Resolution #11). It’s been a long time coming. I am very happy that Petawawa can now fly flags to show that the town is accepting and aware that there are marginalized groups who may not necessarily have a voice. It is exciting that an act as minor as flying a specific flag can make a statement about inclusion and acceptance,” Neville said.

Along with the Pride flag raising in June, the town will also be hosting its inaugural Pride event.

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