A flag ban at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) that prevents schools and the board office from flying flags other than the national, provincial/territorial, and school board flags has drawn complaints from parents. Student parent Melanie Cormier stated that, in the past, the Every Child Matters flag would fly at the board’s schools. “To have this one year and then to have it removed the next year, I feel like it’s erasure,” said Cormier, who is Oji-Cree from Bearskin Lake First Nation. CBC reports that attempts to allow alternative flags such as the Every Child Matters flag or the pride flag have been voted down by trustees. In a conversation with APTN News, visual artist Isaac Murdoch asserted that the trustees were infringing on the rights of First Nations to fly flags that represent their people. Indigenous Education Council member Charlene Simone told CBC that the school board has made great progress on several areas of Indigenous education and representation, but that this flag policy feels like going “back in time.”
