Why raising the rainbow flag is important to P.E.I.'s LGBTQ community

For members of P.E.I.'s LGBTQ community, raising the Pride flag is just as important now as it was when it first debuted in 1978. 

Several Pride flag-raising ceremonies marked the beginning of Pride Week on the Island including at UPEI, Charlottetown City Hall and HMCS Queen Charlotte, and in Souris.

For Dave Stewart, it was a reminder of the hardships those in the LGBTQ community still face. 

'We need Pride'

"If you look at the world situation, we're being thrown off rooftops, we're being stoned. In Russia, they're kidnapping us and beating us. So there are always reasons for Pride," he said.

Stewart also wrote an opinion piece for CBC P.E.I. about why he feels Pride is important.

The celebration sets an important example for those younger than him, he said. 

"There are kids growing up in homes where they are assumed to be straight and they're not. And it's so easy to send the wrong message to kids simply by invalidating their lives."

Stewart said that while things are changing, there's still a need for the yearly event. 

"People are irritated that there's Pride. And as long as people are irritated that there's Pride, we need Pride."

'They care enough to show up'

Brittany Jakubiec, a founding member of the Queer Collective at UPEI, agrees with Stewart.

Jakubiec said she's happy with what the province has accomplished, but thinks more can be done in terms of inclusivity. She said seeing a substantial crowd at the flag-raising ceremony meant a lot to her. 

"It means that people are accepting and welcoming of all people on campus and they care enough to show up and to cheer and to be here for a really great ceremony."

The flag ceremony was a first for Tanner MacKinnon, a member of the UPEI Queer Collective.

"I wanted to be here to show my support for other queer people and to just let me know it's okay," MacKinnon said. 

Allison Wolvers, an employee at nearby retailer Wild Impulse, said the store stocked more Pride merchandise this year than ever before — and Wolvers believes there's more openness this year. 

"I think seeing where P.E.I. has come from in terms of having a visible LGBTQ people is amazing, considering that P.E.I. is notoriously known for being behind in the times. So it's nice to see that open visibility for everybody."

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