The head of Chatham-Kent’s gay pride organization is calling it a “concerning trend” after threats were recently made toward a high school in Blenheim.
According to the Lambton-Kent District School Board, threats were made toward the principal at Blenheim District High School and the building itself on Thursday.
The Chatham-Kent Police Service said in one instance, a 51-year-old Chatham man was cautioned regarding his comments to school staff regarding their decision to fly the Pride flag, which had been flown at the school on May 17 in honour of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
“I think it’s a concerning trend from some persons in the community that are misguided,” said Marianne Willson, president of the Chatham-Kent Gay Pride Association. “I believe it isn’t just concerning to [the LGBTQ] community, it should be concerning to everybody in Chatham-Kent.”
The threats toward the Blenheim school came within a day of a Facebook post made by Ward 4/North Kent Councillor Rhonda Jubenville, which included a photo of the school property, where the Canadian Flag and Pride Flag were being flown together.
In the post, Jubenville suggested that any flag flown under the national flag was improper and urged her followers to contact the school.
“If you feel empassioned about this please respectfully let Blenheim High School know your feelings,” the post read.
Jubenville told CKXS News that she does not believe her comments incited the threats.
“I cannot control how another person acts and I don’t even know if I know who this person is,” she said. “It’s wrong if someone issued any threat to the principal or any staff or anyone at Blenheim District High School. I’ve been the victim of threats and it’s absolutely wrong, and I do not condone it.”
Despite using the Pride flag as the example depicted in her social media post, the councillor said she does not take issue with any one particular flag.
“It doesn’t matter which flag it is, this is disrespectful to our nation’s flag,” said Jubenville who pointed to a passage on the Government of Canada’s website, which states, “It is improper to fly the National Flag with another flag, of any type, on the same flagpole.”
However, the same government website also states that this is a guideline followed by the federal government, and the rules for flags applied by the federal government “are in no way mandatory for individuals or organizations; they may serve as guidelines for all persons who wish to display the National Flag of Canada and other flags in Canada.”
After being informed that the threats had occurred at school, Jubenville said it will likely change the way she addresses how flags are flown within the Chatham-Kent community.
“It will change my approach because I didn’t expect anything like that to happen,” she said.