Zainab Al-Mehdar
Pontiac June 15, 2022
For the first time in the Pontiac all 18 municipalities within MRC Pontiac have passed a motion to fly the progress flag during the month of June in celebration of Pride Month.,
On February 9, 2022 the Pontiac Pride committee made a presentation to the MRC Pontiac council of mayors to request that the progress flag would be flowen in each of the municipalities throughout the county during the month of June. The flags were provided at no cost to municipalities as well as to schools that had requested them. A total of 25 progress flags were distributed around the region.
Warden Jane Toller told THE EQUITY that moving forward she wants to . . .
ensure that everyone in the Pontiac feels welcomed and supported. “I think particularly if anyone does feel marginalized, that we need to be aware of that and we need to do everything possible to ensure that everyone feels not only welcome here, but that they have a vital role to play,” she said.
For creating safe spaces in the region it is about increasing awareness and education on the matter, said Toller. “But at the end of the day, I’m very impressed with the MRC Pontiac. The people of the Pontiac have good hearts and I would say are adaptable to change,” said Toller.
By raising the flag in the Pontiac and holding different activities, she believes it is one way of showing solidarity with LGBTQ2S+ and ensuring they feel supported and that no one feels discriminated against in the Pontiac, Toller pointed out.
Pontiac Pride, created in 2021, is a group of LGBTQ2S+ individuals, parents and allies who are dedicated to making the Pontiac a safe and welcoming place for everyone, and is inclusive of all genders and sexual orientations.
The Pontiac Pride Committee consists of Darlene Pashak (L’Isle-aux-Allumettes), Erica Ouimet (Fort Colounge), Michèle Gagnon (Fort Coulonge), Emma Judd (Shawville), Matthew Armour (Fort-Coulonge), Ashley Mae (Shawville), and Brittany Morin (L’Isle-aux-Allumettes).
Inspired by Pembroke Pride petitioning their municipal council to have the the progress flag raised for the month of June, Darlene Pashak and other committee members came together to do the same here in the Pontiac, said Gagnon.
“We’re very pleased to get the support that we did and to have everybody fly the progress flag. It’s surreal. It’s only very recent that a lot more people are out right. So it’s really affirming, you know, it’s really nice,” said Gagnon.
Flying the flag is only the first step, and in order to create safe spaces they need to be equipped with the tools and resources to provide that safe space, highlighted Gagnon.
“It’s not just about rainbows and dance parties. It’s about remembering what’s behind that. There is still a lot of homophobia in the world, we’re not beyond that and pride is a reminder of that too,” they said.
Becoming an activist was about creating a place for queer folks to feel like they belong and feel safe to come out, said Gagnon. They added that because they have kids who identify as queer, Gagnon is doing this for them becase they didnt have this type of support growing up.
“We wanted to show all of the youth in the community that the people in the community are going to accept them no matter what,” said Emma Judd, one of the committee members.
For Judd, seeing that no one said no to the flags meant a lot and even though not everybody is 100 per cent of the way there yet, she thinks most people are willing to accept the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Advocating for her community is being able to say everyone is accepted here and anybody can live here, can move here and any kid can be accepted here, said Judd, “we want people to feel loved in the community.”
They welcome more people to the committee, the more they can be, the more they can do, highlighted Gagnon. “So we want to keep going with this. We’re looking forward to next year and to doing things throughout the year, having gatherings, organizing smaller events. So people should keep their eyes out for what’s coming up,” said Gagnon.
