Mayor Rick Bonnette and several Halton Hills Counsellors attended the unveiling of the rainbow crosswalk located at the corner of Church Street and Market Street, at the Georgetown Public Library, on September 22.
The Mayor described the crosswalk as “a symbolic movement to show the 2SLGBTQ+ community that we are diverse and inclusive, and we want everyone to feel valued in our community.”
In his speech he highlighted the meaning of each of the colours: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for harmony, and violet for spirit.
Eighteen months ago, this idea of the crosswalk in Halton Hills started as a simple text message from resident Ola Jiskra to Counsellor Jane Fogal, a picture of a rainbow crosswalk in another Ontario community with the message “Can we have one of these too?”
“Essentially I wish we didn’t need to have these displays,” says Jiskra, “but when we have an opportunity, we need to show that we believe love is love.”
Fogal and Jiskra set to work right away fundraising for the project. Several local businesses donated, including Generations Physiotherapy, Friends of the Halton Hills Library, Georgetown Chevrolet, Inkwell Montessori, Your Home Today Realty, Sil Sells and Cartwheels Gym Centre. and the decision was supported unanimously by council. With funding secured the only cost to the town was labour.
“A lot of times ideas start as a community initiative,” claims Fogal. In Council the project passed unanimously. “That unanimous vote shows that we are that type of community,” says Jiskra.
Mayor Bonnette says he “hope(s) people will respect it (the crosswalk) for what it is and hope we are above the vandalism seen in some other communities.”
The new Chief Librarian for Halton Hills, Melanie Southern, was also in attendance. “We are thrilled to be so close and associated with the rainbow crosswalk. It really demonstrates inclusion and acceptance in motion.”
In the words of Jesse Jackson, “Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness. It is the key to growth.”
Check out our video of the opening below
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