CLC Blog

I’m still in disbelief.  

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board voted 6-3 last night NOT to fly “additional” flags (i.e. the Pride flag) outside its Catholic Education Centre or any of its schools.  

The Pride flag does not fly and will not fly outside the DPCDSB Catholic Education Centre on Matheson Blvd.

Not only that, but the trustees also passed a NEW motion specifying that where there are DPCDSB facilities with a second flagpole, in addition to flying the Canadian flag, the Ontario flag shall be flown, and any third flagpoles should be reserved for flags associated with the liturgical year.  

This is the second largest Catholic School board in Ontario and one of the largest in Canada, home to over 80,000 students! 

Praise be to God. 

And thank YOU if you were one of our supporters who contacted your trustee, showed up at the meeting, prayed, etc.  

But even if you weren’t, or if you don’t live anywhere near the DPCDSB, let me tell you why you should feel grateful and overjoyed too!  

You see, I have a confession to make: I NEVER expected this to happen.  

This was my fourth time delegating at the board, and each time prior, they’ve been unreceptive.  

The motion to fly “additional” flags had already been passed 9-2 at the committee level, with only trustees Paula Dametto-Giovannozzi and Herman Viloria voting against; passing the same motion at the board level was just supposed to be a formality—to make it official. Trustee Viloria had also made a motion at that committee meeting last week to explicitly exclude the flying of the Pride flag, but it failed, also 9-2.  

At the beginning of last night’s special board meeting, Trustees Dametto-Giovannozzi and Viloria valiantly tried to argue that correct procedure hadn’t been followed in introducing those motions, nor in holding this special board meeting, but again, they were outvoted.  

So, for all these reasons, I figured the vote breakdown would be the same, with Dametto-Giovannozzi and Viloria stuck in the minority.  

I was wrong.  

It was a wild meeting.  

At one point, in a hilarious Freudian slip, the chair called for a “non-binary” vote instead of a “non-binding” vote. 

And get this: The Director of Education Marianne Mazzorato claimed that this urgent special board meeting was necessary because by not flying the Pride flag some trustees felt they were doing HARM to an identifiable group protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code.  

Mazzorato: Through the chair, with regards to the call for a special board meeting, that was done procedurally correct. There were two trustees that asked for the special board meeting. In regards to why the special board meeting, and whether it falls under the categories of whether it’s urgent, presenting a risk, etc. The rationale is harm to individuals for not taking action at this time.  

Viloria: I would like clarification about the harm to individuals.  

Mazzorato: This would be harm to a certain group of individuals that are staff and students in our board. 

Viloria: Could you expand on that, please?  

Mazzorato: I don’t believe I need to expand on that. I’m clarifying for you— 

Viloria: I don’t see an immediate harm coming to individuals just because the flag is not flying. In fact, it hasn’t been flying since June 1. Actually, it came down after June 1.  

Mazzorato: Through the chair, that would be your interpretation of it. At that time, when a special board meeting was requested, it was because the trustees that requested that believed there needed to be immediate action to deal with that issue.   

Viloria: Well, I’m sorry, but I do not accept that explanation.  

 

Isn’t that just mind-blowing?  

Though I wish I could continue the play-by-play, such commentary would be much too long, although you’re welcome to watch the full meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AsUqgWMXT0.  

Anyway, I, and four others, did delegate at the meeting. You can watch my delegation here: https://youtu.be/iFv5OUC3xqQ. (Apologies for the lavender haze – that’s an issue on their end, not ours.) 

To be honest, I was just there out of a sense of duty. It was perfunctory.   

In fact, I wrote to one of our supporters yesterday:  

“There's a saying that gets attributed to St. Augustine (rightly or wrongly): ‘The truth is like a lion. You don't have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.’ So, that's what we'll do tonight. Release the truth, and even if it falls on deaf ears, we will have done our job.” 

But our God is a God of surprises, and His ways are not our ways.  

When it came time to vote, and those in favour were asked to rise, I was shocked to see that along with Trustees Dametto-Giovannozzi and Viloria, Trustee Darryl D’Souza remained sitting. I was ready to cheer for that development alone. We had persuaded someone! 

And then I noticed Trustee Anisha Thomas doing the same. And the chair, Luz del Rosario, also sitting—does the chair vote? I wondered. (She does.) And then after some initial confusion, it appeared that Trustee Thomas Thomas, who was virtually attending the meeting, was not standing either.  

In the end, the only trustees to vote in favour were my trustee, Brea Corbet, and trustees Mario Pascucci and Bruno Iannicca. Trustees Shawn Xaviour and Stefano Pascucci were absent.  

The motion was defeated 6-3.  

Even if I lacked faith, you all did not.  

It was truly a team effort. Trustees Dametto-Giovannozzi and Viloria were rock stars. PAFE, CitizenGO, Hands Off Our Kids, Action4Canada, and Right to Life Mississauga & Area all rallied their supporters to attend.  

CLC VP Matt Wojciechowski, Trustee Paula Dametto-Giovannozzi, CLC Director of Education & Advocacy Josie Luetke 

One meeting attendee told me about all the rosaries he saw out. So many people were praying. So many people had contacted their trustees. Thank you.  

This victory belongs to Christ, but He used YOU to accomplish it.  

If you weren’t there yourself, check out this video of all the attendees celebrating the vote: https://x.com/CampaignLife/status/1800681661337829852 

I don’t know what to do with this feeling; it’s such a rare and precious thing.

Immediately after the vote, PAFE’s Teresa Pierre and I turned to each other, flabbergasted. Did that really happen?

CitizenGO’s Gregory Tomchyshyn, a former CLC intern, kindly drove me home afterwards, and it was much the same: What do we do now? How do we celebrate?

Well, the first priority must be to thank God.

The second priority is not to take this win for granted. There will be a lot of pressure on the board to reverse this decision.

As an example, the Dufferin-Peel Secondary Unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association sent this email out to members yesterday:

So, please contact the trustees who voted against the flying of the Pride flag to THANK them and encourage them to remain resolute:

Trustee Herman Viloria
Mississauga Wards 2 & 8
Tel: 416-452-9345 Email: [email protected]

Trustee Thomas Thomas
Mississauga Ward 5
Tel: 905-601-4345 Email: [email protected]

Trustee Luz del Rosario
Mississauga Ward 6 & 11
Tel: 416-528-6447 Email: [email protected]

Trustee Darryl Brian D'Souza
Brampton Wards: 2, 5 & 6
Phone: 416-528-8515 Email: [email protected]

Trustee Anisha Thomas
Brampton Wards 1, 3 & 4
Tel: 437-215-1676 Email: [email protected]

Trustee Paula Dametto-Giovannozzi
Caledon/Dufferin
Tel: 437-215-7139 Email: [email protected]

Thirdly, as the OECTA email indicates, the Pride flag is still permitted to be displayed within schools. We have seen countless examples of this and have been hearing disturbing stories from parents and teachers. No institution should be participating in Pride Month, especially Catholic institutions. Completely stopping the indoctrination of students remains our goal. That is our next battle!  

And we cannot do it without you.

Your grassroots lobbying made a difference here, even when it seemed like all the odds were stacked against us.

Please click here to make a celebratory donation.

We’re in it for the long-haul, but we only exist because of your support, and the grace of God.

Last but not least, let’s take the time to bask in this achievement, to commit to memory the feel of it, the taste of it, the smell of it. Even if you’re not Catholic, even if you’re not in the Peel region, this was really a triumph for all of us, and I can’t understate its significance.

It helps protect children, who will see one fewer Pride flag flying, but it will also inspire teachers, principals, and other staff who are trying to remain faithful in a very hostile culture. It will give hope to everyone, nationwide, that a descent into sexual degeneracy and the corruption of our collective values are NOT foregone conclusions; pro-family Canadians can prevail if we persevere.

Again, the trustees had already voted 9-2 in favour of this motion at the committee level, meaning faithful parents and ratepayers were able to actually change minds, to convince a majority of trustees to oppose the flying of the Pride flag. It can be done.

Of course, we should never doubt that, “for nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). The glory be His forever.