Dear Editor,
Reflecting on the coming plebiscite in our community I sense a great deal of loss for the well-being of our citizens if we vote yes. I remember the pride that the Barrhead community experienced when it began the school of New Hope and Blue Heron grew and expanded. It also paralleled the growth of inclusive education within the Pembina Hills School District. Removing the crosswalk celebrating adult challenges and disabilities is a retrograde act erasing our community’s long and continued association for inclusivity and diversity.
And I wonder, why we would agree to this.
I sense a great deal of loss for the well-being of our citizens by the removal of significant flags such as Indigenous flags, Legion flags and county flags. Really! Remove a flag respecting and representing our veterans from our community for the next ten years! Remove an Indigenous flag from our community in the light of all the ways our community strives toward reconciliation in community and schools.
And I wonder, why we would agree to this.
The proposed bylaw on neutrality is far to broad and harms so many aspects of our communities understanding of welcome and hospitality.
And I wonder, why we would agree to this.
Roger Manuel
Retired teacher and Associate Minister, Barrhead United Church