Saskatoon Catholic school administrators meet LGBTQ2S+ protestors on their doorstep
A protest at Saskatoon’s Catholic school division over a leaked email described as discriminatory of the queer community led to a tense exchange with its director of education on Thursday.
Protestors gathered at the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School (GSCS) division office in downtown Saskatoon to protest an email advising the elementary school principals to warn their teachers not to let their students attend the “Rainbow Tent” at the Nutrien Children’s Festival this weekend.
Rain began to pour just as the event started.
“I don’t like that it’s raining because it doesn’t have as many people out here but I do know at the end of a storm there will be a rainbow,” said François Rivard, director of education with the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Board.
“Talk the talk and walk the walk,” a protestor responded from the crowd.
“Always have,” Rivard said, before making his exit.
GSCS Superintendent Tom Hickey, who wrote the email, was more conciliatory to the crowd.
“I’m sorry. We love you. We love the students that come to our schools,” he said.
“Trust has been broken, and that’s fair. There’s lots of you that are angry. I’m looking forward to continuing to meet with people and connect with people.”
He said the school division was committed to learning how to better support its vulnerable LGBTQ2S+ students.
Protestors asked if Hickey would retract the statement and allow Saskatoon’s Catholic teachers to bring their students to the event, but he said he wasn’t prepared to make any commitments yet.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.