Pride flag flies at Town Hall and throughout Peel

July 15, 2016 · 0 Comments

Peel Pride Chairperson Sonya Shorter stood before the raised Rainbow Flag outside Town Hall Tuesday, accompanied by Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones and Councillors Nick deBoer, Rob Mezzapelli, Jennifer Innis and Barb Shaughnessy.
Photo by Bill Rea

By Bill Rea
The Rainbow Flag, symbolic of gay pride, is flying for the first time at Town Hall in Caledon East.
The flag was raised earlier this week, and the occasion had an historic connection.
“This is the first time Pride Flag has flown over all three municipalities in the Region of Peel,” Councillor Jennifer Innis told her colleagues at the council meeting that evening.
Mayor Allan Thompson had proclaimed the week from July 11 to 14 as Peel Pride Week.
The Mayor was out of town on municipal business Tuesday, but his executive assistant Sandra Sharpe said he will be attending the Peel Pride Picnic in Brampton Saturday.
“We’re an inclusive community, so we’d better be ready to walk the walk,” she said Thompson had said.
“I’m just glad to be part of it,” Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones commented. “It’s all about inclusivity.”
“We’ve always struggled with how to include Caledon,” commented Peel Pride Chairperson Sonya Shorter.
She added there was a vigil held in the aftermath of the recent tragedy in Orlando, Florida, which Thompson attended, so he was approached.
Shorter observed the flag has been flying in Brampton for Pride Week for about 10 years. “It’s really nice to see it at all three City and town Halls,” she said.
She also commented there are Pride Week events held in Brampton and Mississauga, and they will be working on one that can be held in Caledon.