Woodstock mayor doubles down on decision not to display Pride flags

Despite concerns raised by an 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy group, Woodstock is sticking with a policy that will prevent Pride flags from being flown from municipal lampposts.

The Rainbow Crosswalk asked council for an exemption to the rule, passed unanimously by council in November, that limits banners hung on municipal lampposts to heritage or tourism purposes.

In a lengthy speech to council on Tuesday night, Mayor Trina Jones defended the policy and complained about how the group made its concerns known.

Jones also questioned the usefulness of flying the Pride flag in the western New Brunswick town.

"I think it is important for us all to take a step back and try and determine why a flag that is meant to unify appears to be having the opposite effect and is creating division in multiple ways," she said.

Jones said the flags were only displayed for six weeks annually, and the town is "not defined" by displaying Pride flags for such a short time each year.

"I caution anyone that thinks that simply flying a banner checks all the boxes and automatically makes us an inclusive community," she said.

"If flying a flag had that much direct influence over the actions of our community members day-to-day, I'd have lots of flags flying every day."

Jones said she recognizes the importance of Pride flags, but real progress in society actually happens "because many people representing many minority groups took a lot of time to sit down with policymakers to build laws and policies that promote equity, fairness and inclusion."

She said Woodstock is a welcoming and diverse town, but Pride flags have proven to be "a very divisive issue that has multiple sides to the debate."

Despite opening her remarks with a vow to be transparent about all council decisions, Jones would not answer questions from reporters during a break or after the meeting. She said she would let her comments stand and reporters should listen and "soak in" what she had to say.

While the council meeting was live streamed on YouTube, Jones and council members stopped CBC News from recording it in person and objected to any photos being taken of council or the mayor.

Mayor questions group's use of social media

Jones also suggested the Rainbow Crosswalk hadn't brought its concerns to council properly, although she had just directed the town clerk to read aloud the letter the group did send to council.

"They have not directly communicated their concerns to us, nor asked to meet with us so they can share and discuss their concerns," Jones said.

"They have been dealing instead directly with the press and social media."

She said she originally asked council to look into its policy on banners flown by the town because there was no transparency and because producing banners had become a financial burden on the town because the number of requests for them.

Jones and the town's clerk have not responded when asked to clarify how many requests came in.

She said the genesis of the policy "had nothing to do with Pride flags," but she accepted the disappointment of the Rainbow Crosswalk.

"A neutral position was suggested by the special committee and accepted by council to ensure we are being fair and consistent with proclamations, banners, flags and lighting requests."

At the end of her speech, she did ask town staff to better define the "heritage" side of the banner policy. This was the only change Jones suggested.

When Jones asked if any other councillors had anything to add, Coun. Norm Brown said he agreed with the mayor's position.

No other councillors spoke, and council voted unanimously to accept the mayor's remarks.

Last week, Rainbow Crosswalk president Amanda Lightbody told CBC News that by taking a neutral policy on banners, it was "a dog whistle for people who are a little bit bigoted." This analysis disturbed Jones.

"To insinuate any of us are homophobic or bigots is hateful and unfounded," Jones said, visibly upset as she spoke.

Pride group president not surprised by mayor's speech

When reached by phone after Jones's speech, Lightbody said she was not surprised by the mayor's statement, and  "nothing has changed" in terms of the group's objectives.

"We're going to continue doing what we're doing," Lightbody said, adding that she will continue to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community instead of going back and forth with the town.

When asked if Jones's comments might prevent the Rainbow Crosswalk from working with the town in the future, Lightbody said no.

"It's not, 'Are we willing to work with them,' it's 'Are they willing to work with us?'"

Lightbody said she didn't understand why Jones questioned the usefulness of Pride flags, and "belittling and minimizing" such a prominent symbol for the community speaks volumes.

She also questioned why Jones critiqued the group speaking out on social media, since that is how the organization connects with the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

"We don't have a building that people can go to," Lightbody said.

"This is how we're able to connect to the community and keep abridge of all of the things that are happening… We constantly have to advocate for ourselves, because if we don't, things slide back."

Mayor tells reporters not to call her

Jones also took several shots at the news media, claiming coverage was inaccurate. 

She was not made available for an interview with CBC News last week to answer questions about the policy and made it clear this would not be changing.

Jones welcomed interviews only if they were a "constructive conversation," but added, "if any of the press are simply looking for a 30-second sound bite for me, please don't contact me for a followup on this."

She turned to the two journalists present as she asked the media to "refrain from calling me this week," and then went on to list her entire calendar for the rest of the week to show that she is busy.

Jones also suggested reporters should be covering a local basketball tournament instead of the banner issue.