The miracles that won’t stop coming
I am awed and amazed by the wonders the Lord has worked.
If you live in the region of Dufferin-Peel (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, and area), you have received incessant emails from me over the past couple of weeks (sorry, but it was for good reason—I promise).
If you live outside of this region, you are likely unaware that something incredible has been building here.
As of last night, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, the second largest Catholic school board in Canada, no longer allows Gay Pride flags to be flown or displayed—inside or outside its buildings.
This is a story of how a school board changed course, withstanding intense intimidation tactics, to do what would have formerly seemed impossible in today’s culture.
In June of last year, I shared with you how the DPCDSB had miraculously voted 6-3 against flying the Pride flag.
Since 2021, it had been raising the Pride flag outside its Catholic Education Centre (and a handful of other buildings) and prior to that June 2024 board meeting, nine of the trustees had voted in favour of the flag at a committee meeting…so this was a major reversal in policy.
Woke activists were furious and began mobilizing. Plans were brewing.
Just over a couple of weeks ago, we found out that the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association was sending delegates to the board’s By-Law/Policies Review Committee meeting and telling all its members to be there in person, sign a petition, and contact the trustees to get the Gay Pride flag back up the flagpole.
So, we jumped into action to defend the gains we’d made and Hold. The. Line.
We recruited delegates and attendees of our own, and that 6-3 vote against the Pride flag turned into a 10-1 vote against the Pride flag! My own trustee, Brea Corbet, was the lone holdout.
Of course, that wasn’t acceptable to the LGBTQ lobby.
More delegates were solicited for last night’s board meeting—heavyweights like former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne (responsible for our disastrous sex-ed curriculum, amongst other things), Ward 2 Mississauga City Councillor Alvin Tedjo, and reps from the “Countering Hate Committee,” including the “Regional Hate Crime Coordinator at Peel Regional Police.”
Kathleen Wynne, after the conclusion of her delegation
CLC again implored our supporters to show up and pray that the trustees wouldn’t crack under this pressure. I registered to delegate myself.
I was reasonably hopeful we’d succeed. 10-1 is a pretty safe margin as far as margins go… although the trustees have proven swayable, and we were outnumbered in delegations.
What transpired during the meeting completely blew me away, though.
See, even though the existing flag protocol prevented the flying of the Pride flag outside DPCDSB buildings, it still permitted it to be displayed inside buildings for the duration of a particular observance (i.e. June—Pride month).
We have been lobbying for that to change—and stated that it was our next goal—but I thought it would take longer to achieve.
What with Wynne and other politicians weighing in (and a Globe & Mail op-ed once against threatening the withdrawal of public funding of Catholic schools over this issue), I would have just been relieved if we managed to preserve the status quo.
And yet, God had bigger plans!
Trustee Paula Dametto-Giovannozzi—who has been absolutely relentless in the best way possible—put forward an amendment to the flag protocol to only permit the display of Canadian, provincial/territorial, and DPCDSB flags inside classrooms, effectively removing the Pride flag from DPCDSB grounds.
Her motion passed 9-1. (Trustee Brea Corbet remained the lone dissenter; Trustee Herman Viloria was absent and wasn’t permitted to join virtually, even though he wanted to.)
It was a long night, and the board proceedings were difficult to follow, so most of the parents did not immediately realize the significance of what happened. I, however, had tears in my eyes.
We don’t have a video of parents whooping and cheering triumphantly, like we did last June, but make no mistake—the Holy Spirit was moving in that room and it was a miracle, of the David vs. Goliath variety.
The battle is won, but the war is not over.
There’s always more to do.
As we learned last night, even if Pride flags are now totally prohibited, teachers can still wear rainbow lanyards or other Pride symbols. (Only the flag protocol was debated.) The Kathleen Wynne (now Doug Ford) sex-ed curriculum is still a mess.
But take hope, my brothers and sisters in Christ!
This is a school board slowly being reclaimed for the glory of God. What other wonders might He have in store for us?
There are too many people to thank.
Thank you, Jesus—You are faithful.
Thank you to the Archdiocese of Toronto, who provided guidance and re-asserted that the Cross and the Sacred Heart of Jesus are the only symbols necessary to express love and inclusion. (Send His Eminence Frank Cardinal Leo a “thank you” yourself by emailing [email protected].) The involvement of our bishops can and does make a difference (sometimes the difference). Ask for their intervention in your Catholic school board!
Thank you to Trustee Paula Dametto-Giovannozzi, who proves that sometimes all it takes is one or two dedicated elected representatives to champion the pro-family cause, and others will follow.
Thank you to our allies—CitizenGO, Hands Off Our Kids, Action4Canada, PAFE, Right to Life Mississauga & Area, and any other group I’ve forgotten to mention—that played an indispensable role in this fight. We did it together.
Thank you to the clergy, wide variety of parishes, CWL chapters, moms groups, and prayer groups that heard our call and recognized this opportunity to put faith into action.
Thank you to everyone who summoned the courage to delegate, contacted their trustees, braved the cold and the snow to sit or stand through hours-long meetings, and/or, most especially, cast their eyes to the Lord in fervent prayer. Some even showed up early to pray the Rosary. You inspire me.
And this is where I tell you what’s next…
IF YOU LIVE IN DUFFERIN-PEEL...
Please contact your trustee (yes, again) to thank him or her for opposing the flying and display of the Pride flag. Unfortunately, we can never rest on our laurels, and considering the significance of these latest developments, the board will undoubtedly face renewed pressure intended to break their resolve.
Here’s their contact info (minus Trustee Brea Corbet’s):
Trustee Mario Pascucci
Mississauga Wards: 1 & 3
Tel: 905-302-3096 Email: [email protected]
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]
Trustee Shawn Xaviour
Brampton Wards 7-10
Tel: 416-528-9622 Email: [email protected]
Trustee Bruno Iannicca
Mississauga Ward 7
Tel: 905-270-0536 Email: [email protected]
Trustee Stefano Pascucci
Mississauga Ward 4
Tel: 416-508-5543 Email: [email protected]
Also, please keep your eyes open when visiting your local school—perhaps at the next parent-teacher conference or if you go there to vote. (My local Catholic elementary school, for instance, serves as a polling station.) Please report any Pride flags to the DPCDSB, as even under the old flag protocol, they shouldn’t be displayed right now.
Regardless of where you live, I’d encourage you to take this remarkable news as an invitation to get involved with your local school board!
Find out if they celebrate Pride. Write to your trustee. Delegate at their next board meeting.
If you’re pessimistically rolling your eyes because you already know what your board is like, then consider running for the position of trustee yourself. At least in Ontario, school board elections are happening next year, so now’s the time to start organizing. Contact us—we’ll help! Let’s retake our schools!
Keep praying. There are some delegates, as well as staff and students, who were probably devastated by last night’s results, and feel like they lost, or even that their very identities were assailed. The removal of the Pride flag is, in fact, a move made for them, not against them, but I’m sure they don’t feel that way. Pray that they may find a lasting peace in Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life.