Toronto Catholic school board trustees vote against flying 'pro-life' flag
Catholic public schools across Toronto will not be flying the "pro-life" flag in the month of May after school board trustees voted against it.
The motion, proposed by Trustee Michael Del Grande, sparked controversy among other trustees of the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), who ultimately did not support it during Tuesday's board meeting.
It proposed that the International Pro-Life Flag be flown throughout May and asked the board to accommodate all staff and students who wanted to participate in next month's National March for Life, which is organized by an anti-abortion group.
"We are a pro-life board and expect you will vote in favour of my motion," Del Grande said ahead of the vote.
"We have an opportunity to showcase ourselves as defenders of human rights and the greatest social justice battle of our day. I trust you will do the right thing this evening for the children, for our Catholic faith and for God."
Some members who opposed the motion noted the expectations that parents who send their children to Catholic schools have, such as a well-rounded education with gospel learning that students will succeed in all realms.
"The TCDSB has Catholic graduate expectations, and this motion, if passed, would destroy the meaning behind these expectations and render them meaningless," Angela Kennedy said during the meeting.
"What we're seeing today is the latest example of a series of moments in our history [with] political stress and unrest, where the school board has become a kind of locus of controversy," another member, Maria Rizzo, said.
This isn't the first time the TCDSB has considered a motion to have certain flags flown outside its schools. In 2021, the board voted in favour of all of its schools in Toronto raising the Pride flag to mark Pride Month in June.
"The difference between this motion, and for example, the Pride flag motion, is that the Pride flag motion celebrated Pride [and was] student-driven," Rizzo said during the meeting. "Not once have I even heard the word, or in the motion deal with students and what students are all about."
After the motion failed, several members of the public who were watching the meeting were heard saying "shame" a number of times, prompting the chair to ask security to escort them out.
Correction
An earlier version of this story stated that the TCDSB previously voted in favour of flying the Pride flag outside some Toronto schools during the month of June. The board, in fact, voted to fly the Pride flag outside all of its schools and the board office during the month of June.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.