New Brunswick community raises Pride flag for first time

The town of Salisbury, N.B., got a bit more colourful this week.

The Pride flag was raised in front of the municipality's office on Tuesday after town council received requests from citizens to recognize June as Pride Month.

Town CAO Austin Henderson said they had some residents who were wondering what the town was doing and if they would consider doing something to acknowledge Pride.

“They also thought that it was important and brought that request up to council, and ultimately it was discussed at the following meeting which was held on Monday and now the flag is flying,” said Henderson.

Community leader Dave-Allan Gouthro was the first Salisbury resident to make the request, sending a letter on May 18.

Gouthro says Salisbury is a great place to raise a family and is incredibly inclusive and welcoming.

“But it hasn't raised the pride flag yet, but communities around Salisbury have. I chair the PSSC (Parent School Support Committee) at Salisbury Regional School and obviously Policy 713 has been the talk, not of the town, but of the province, and I wanted to make sure that we were doing things to show that we supported inclusivity as well,” said Gouthro.

Jessica Hope also reached out, asking the town to acknowledge Pride Month with at least a post on social media.

She said she’s lived in the Salisbury area for many years and has never seen Pride celebrated, let alone acknowledged.

“This is important to myself because I want to see that everyone feels safe and included in the town of Salisbury. I want my child to know that the town cares about our family members and friends who are part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” said Hope in an email.

Gouthro was surprised the decision was agreed to so quickly.

“We have a town council that's very dedicated to the community,” said Gouthro. “They're very, very active in the community. I'm always impressed with what they do.”

Henderson said council thought it was important to celebrate the diversity and demonstrate the inclusivity of the community by raising the flag.

The town plans on coming up with a flag policy in the months to come to recognize future special events.