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Minto Pride Committee considering more permanent local pride decorations a steppingstone

Pride decorations sit on a fence. Trees and a model train sit in the background, with the Palmerston water tower in the distance.
Pride decorations in Minto will be flying for more months starting soon. This was much to the delight of the Minto Pride Committee. Photo by Matthew Rae, Twitter.
Riley Gillespie-Wilson - CICW - Fergus • ON | 21-09-2023
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The Minto Pride Committee had what they call a "big win" at a council meeting earlier this week.

More "permanent" pride decorations were approved locally, much to the delight of committee chair Brayden Scott. Fundraising and social media support will aid Scott and his volunteer committee in funding the flags to be put up at the entrances and exits of the town from May to September.

Scott says this proactive move from Minto council is refreshing to see this week, given the protests taking place regarding gender and sexual orientation in Guelph and across the country. He added that council's opposition of putting in rainbow crosswalks in Wellington North was a disappointing result given the success of the Harriston pride crossing.

While it's promising to see visual representations like these for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, Scott says there's still work to be done in creating a dialogue.

"It's beyond it just being a pride crosswalk, it's the intentions behind it, it's the commitments that you're making as a community to propel and excel this work forward," Scott explained.

"The visual representation is one thing, the conversation and the education that comes along with it is a whole other piece as well, so absolutely, just important to not this work and why we need to propel it forward," he added.

Though the committee is going to work hard to raise funds, Scott says he's hoping to see council pull their weight financially. That goes beyond just the installation of the decorations.

He added he’s hoping this initiative will unite members of the community, and that they'll recognize the importance and scope of this type of representation. This is promising, and, in Scott's eyes, the more permanent decorations could become a theme throughout the region.

"We're hoping it encourages other nearby communities like Wellington County and Mount Forest. We've seen some proposals not get passed there," Scott stated.

"We're hoping that by Minto taking a prominent stand, absolutely that it encourages other communities to do the same," he added.

A "steppingstone" for Minto, Scott says he'd like to see more decorations than just the planned flags at the entrances and exits to town.

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