Chair's Corner

Happy Pride, everyone!

Starting June 3, we are flying the Progress Pride flag at Halton Regional Centre—a powerful message of inclusion and acceptance for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other people who identify as part of sexual and gender-diverse (2SLGBTQ+) communities.

Our great community is shaped by everyone who calls it home. Whether you are a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community or an ally, here are some tips on how we can all help build a more inclusive society:

• Speak up when someone is using discriminatory language
• Practice active listening and be open to feedback when 2SLGBTQ+ people share concerns with you.
• Participate in local Pride festivities, such as Halton Pridefest 2024 (external link), Conservation Halton’s Pride in Nature (external link), the Pride parade in Milton, and other local Pride events.
• Share your pronouns with your name, which helps create a safe place for others to share their own pronouns.
• Post a message of support using the hashtag #Pride2024 and use your channels to celebrate the work of local groups like PRISM Halton (external link), Pflag Halton (external link), Halton Pride Collective (external link) and more.

This Pride season, I encourage you to reflect on how you can create safe, equitable and accepting spaces in your homes, workplaces and neighbourhoods. By coming together to celebrate Pride, we help keep Halton a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire.