Minister Michlle Thompson (Right) raises the Pride flag with Mary MacDonald (Left) and Kevin Barrett (Middle), co-chairs of the Pride Nova Scotia Government Employee Network (Courtesy of Communications Nova Scotia).
Nova Scotia raised the Pride flag today at the Province House.
The event was put on by the Pride Nova Scotia Government Employee Network, and they were joined by Nova Scotia Minister of Health and Wellness, Michelle Thompson, as well as students from Beaverbank-Kinsac Elementary School’s Rainbow Club.
“The flag is a beautiful symbol of diversity and the lasting impact of the fight for equal rights. Recognizing Pride Month reminds us of the collective responsibility we have to create an environment in which everyone can thrive,” said Thompson.
Nova Scotia NDP leader Claudia Chender was among the attendees. She said it was great to see so many kids at the ceremony and hopes to bring her own children next year.
“Having all those kids in the room today is a way of giving the words that are said at that podium a lot more meaning because it’s sort of making a promise to future generations, and it’s a promise we need to make,” said Chender.
The ceremony was headlined by guest speaker Jessica Barrett, CEO of TeensNowTalk, entrepreneur and fashion designer. She spoke about how the students in attendance have the power to create inclusive spaces in their communities.
The flag raising ceremony come as Nova Scotia, Canada, and the world experience a rise of hate motivated acts against the 2SLGBTQIAA+ community. We’ve seen anti-gay protests and homophobic vandalism. Just recently in Nova scotia there have been two cases of Pride flags being destroyed, one of which was stolen from inside a school and burned on the front lawn.
Nova scotia Liberal leader Zach Churchill says government’s need to do more to protect all members of the community.
“We’re actually seeing governments go backwards on this front and make decisions that are harmful to people, and that are going to have tragic results. So as legislators, we continue to monitor the situation and if we need to bring a new laws and regulations to assist in ensuring we have an inclusive, accepting, loving society, then we have to do that,” said Churchill.
Chender echoed Churchill’s statement, saying it’s crucially important to call out hate where we see it.
“Our caucus has spent a lot of time in the past couple of years, bringing attention to these issues inside and outside the legislative chamber. [We are] calling for more action from the Houston government specifically on issues like gender affirming care, transphobia, and everything in between,” said Chender.
The ceremony was held today, on the 28th of June, to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, when members of New York’s gay community stood up against police brutality towards them.
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