The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

© BOPINION & MEDITORIAL The IFP - Halton Hills | Thursday, June 10, LET'S CELEBRATE OUR COLLECTIVE PRIDE Pride Month may look a little erent be ‘he mide of apandemic, but that shouldn't — from celebrating all that the van pat ie, achieved toward acceptance and inclusion. June is dedicated to the uplifting of LGBTQ2+ voices, celebration of LGBTQ2+ culture and support of LGBTQ2+ rights. Pride gatherings — like the parades and festivals that have been held in normal times and the virtual celebra- tions of today's COVID times — are rooted in the strug- gles that groups hi dured for decades t« prejudice and be accepted for who they are. An avenue to embrace diversity, these celebrations history and in ey con- tinue the focus on fostering the rights and recognition that LGBTQ2+ Canadians des The rainbow flag, a well: known symbol of the LGBTQ2+ community, has evolved over the years, but its message is the same. It aims to encourage awareness, kindness and acceptance for all. Do you know what the six colours stand for? Each has its own meaning. Red is ms | SYNDOlic of life, orange of healing, yellow of sunlight, ‘The principle of green of nature, blue of . sy harmony and purple of inclusivity is key spirit, Could there be any- thing lovelier? to the success of 9 __ Theprinciple of inclu. . ' sivity hd to the success of evel ‘ing eve rything we do. embracing oetne tein we draw on all of the w strengths and abilities of Canada's population. Tnclusiv- TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT Peter Scholz photo A tree frog makes itself comfortable in a wooded area of Limehouse. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. TB LETTERS & COMMENTARY WE ALL BEAR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL CANADIAN CHILDREN Our Kids Network is sit- uated on the Treaty Lands the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Traditional Territory of the Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat peo- ples Our Kids Network em- pathizes with the incredi- ble grief and heartbreak of the families and communi- ity unites all of us as one team, and Pri are a reminder of how amazingly diverse we are and how we garner strength through diversity. Sharing our Pride gives us unity of purpose, making each of us better as people reflecting Canadian ideals of diversity, inclusion and respect. The road that led us to this point has been a long one, and there is still much work to do. Together this month, ina safe and respective manner, let's celebrate and show our individual and collective Pride. We must remember that Pride matters for many rea- sons beyond celebration events in June. We must keep striving for total acceptance and inclusion, vaiuing) what is most important to us — our people, all people — days ayear. comes down to this. Everyone should feel comfort- g able and safe being themselves wherever they are. Sadly, 2 ‘we're not there yet ties whose remains were dis- covered in an unmarked grave at the site of a former Kamloops residential school. We send our deep sym- pathy to the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation. We hold you in our hearts and we honour the lives of these 215 children, and those children who sur- vived. As a network of caring professionals who work with children and families every day, we believe pas- “We helieve passionately that every single child matters, and has the right to thrive.” ~ Christine Hartley and Angela Bellegarde sionately that every single child matters, and has the right to thrive. anada's residential school system was pur- posely designed to remove and isolate children from their loving families, tradi- tions, and cultures to as- similate them into the dominant culture. This horrific discovery exposes Canada's long his- tory of the inhuman and vi- olent treatment of Indige- nous families and children, and this continues today. Weall must take respon- sibility for the care and well-being of all of Cana- da's children. June is National Indige- nous History Month, and Our Kids Network calls up- on you to face fe truth about the Indian Residen- tial School system so that can take meaningful action toward Reconcilia- vot peconciliation begins. ith oneself and then ex- tends into our families, re- lationships, | workplaces ‘AND ANGELA BELLEGARDE (INDIGENOUS LEAD) UR KIDS NETWORK it, the National Indian Resi- dential School Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day at 1-866-925-4419, ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concems. to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2, Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca ocna newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE rine Kelly Mi Regional Managing Editor bistibution Representative Real Estate Kristie Pell Regional Prato Manager Manuel Gar Halton Media General Manager Jason Pehora CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at theifp.ca For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail Ipotar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. EO}