On June 1, the District of Sechelt named June 2022 as Pride Month mere hours after raising the progressive pride flag.
Traditionally, the month of June celebrates the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, culture and recreation, and acts as a way to identify and connect. The District’s motion also recognized that “social, emotional, and cognitive isolation are key factors in the disproportionate risk for suicide, substance abuse and addiction within the 2SLGBTQIA+ youth population. Sunshine Coast Pride Month. provides vital opportunities fo r2SLGBTQIA+ youth to identify and connect with their peers and elders which enables a sense of belonging which contradicts the risk factors. And strong community saves lives,” Mayor Darnelda Siegers read.
As a delegation, Jan Legault thanked council for their support and spoke about long-time local Pride Month champion Laurie Lesk’s contribution and the “profound loss” for the Coast that Lesk had to leave the area due to the housing crisis.
“Pride is remembering and reclaiming our history, celebrating our present and growing into our future,” Legault said, and remarked on the many activities planned for June.
Year of the Salish Sea
Sechelt also followed in the Town of Gibsons’s footsteps by declaring June 8, 2022 to June 7, 2023, as the Year of the Salish Sea. The designation will support collaborative local actions between multiple stakeholders to “strengthen organizational programming for impact and awareness, educate the public, amplify existing work, and inspire action from individuals, organizations and governments on the Salish Sea.”
Siegers said only 15 per cent of British Columbians could identify where the Salish Sea is located, and the marine environment is “witnessing devastating diversity loss” to the risk of extinction of more than 100 species.
