After putting the brakes on a planned event involving high-profile drag queens at a Sudbury high school two weeks ago, the Rainbow District School Board has officially cancelled its participation.
Courage Across Canada Tour featuring drag superstars Icesis Couture and Suki Dog (International Day of Pink)
"There is agreement that the board will focus its efforts on its existing events in support of students and will not participate in the tour," the school board said in a news release on Tuesday afternoon.
"The organizer is currently considering a community-based event during the evening of Feb. 10."
The Courage Across Canada tour, featuring drag superstars such as the winner of Canada's Drag Race Season 2 Icesis Couture, was planning to visit Lo-Ellen Park Secondary in February.
The tour is visiting 10 communities across the country “sharing drag and stories at local schools by day and celebrating with free performances at local venues by night.”
A spokesperson for the school board, Nicole Charette, told CTV News in an email last week that the request to host the tour came to the board's attention on Jan. 17.
The student organizer told CTV News he had taken the planning process through the appropriate channels and that the high school event had been in the works since September.
CTV News has not been able to independently verify the board's assertion that it didn't know about the event until January.
"It was not forwarded for review and, therefore, was never approved before the actual planning for the event began," Charette said in an email to CTV New on Jan. 23.
"Presentations in our schools are carefully considered before they are approved. This may include reviewing the proposed message and content and soliciting feedback from previous hosts of the proposed presentation. This may also include having appropriate resources in place for students who may need follow up support. We have many requests to host a variety of presentations or events in many areas each year. Events must have an educational focus and be appropriate for educational settings. We have not had the opportunity to review this request for its educational component."
Outraged by the decision, an online petition was created in response in support of the show. It has gathered 1,669 signatures by 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The school board said it has two full-day educational workshops involving the 2SLGBTQIA community planned in the coming months.
Workshops will be offered to students Feb. 17 at La Place des Arts downtown as part of the Classroom Closet event presented by Réseau Access Network.
"The Classroom Closet provides conference participants with the knowledge, attitude, and skills required to support and advocate for 2S-LGBTQ+ students, friends, family members, and co-workers. A diverse range of speakers and facilitators will deliver workshops on a number of 2S-LGBTQ+ related topics," the school board said.
Another educational conference called Embrace Diversity: Free to Be Me, formerly known as Dare to Stand Out, will take place March 30 for students in Grades 7 and 8 and April 27 for students in Grades 9-12.
"Free to Be Me is all about listening to and honouring student voice. Staff members reach out to the (genders and sexualities alliances) from all Rainbow secondary schools to seek input on topics of interest to them. Partners provide guest speakers and deliver workshops, often based on the lived-experience of members of the 2S-LGBTQ+ community," the school board said.
"Participants build understanding and brainstorm solutions to help foster a greater sense of safety and belonging in their schools and communities."
Due to the Rainbow school board's decision, students in Sudbury have organized a free all-ages Courage Tour event at Collège Boréal, organizers told CTV News through social media.
It will take place at 4 p.m. on Feb. 10.
Sudbury all-ages Courage Tour event Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. at College Boreal. (International Day of Pink)
"Please support them by sharing this event and donating to the Day of Pink," Icesis Couture said in a statement sent to CTV News on Tuesday afternoon.
Statement from Icesis Couture about new Courage Tour event (International Day of Pink)
The drag queens involved in the Courage Across Canada tour will also be performing at Zig’s in Sudbury the evening of Feb. 10.
CTV News video journalist Ian Campbell is also following the story and will have reaction from organizers on Wednesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Ottawa Thursday evening for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
Zellers has opened the first of 25 new locations within Hudson's Bay stores across the country. The Canadian retail chain launched 12 stores in Ontario and Alberta Thursday, along with a new e-commerce website.
The quick thinking and immediate actions of two people are credited with possibly saving the life of a Midland councillor after he collapsed at a meeting Wednesday evening.
Investigators with York Regional Police issued Canada-wide warrants for two men who they say are involved in the Richmond Hill attack on Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtamiri weeks before she was allegedly abducted.
An Ontario man said he was shocked when his truck was stolen not once but twice, and the second time it was taken he was surprised to discover he was no longer covered for theft.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Ottawa Thursday evening for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.
The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est has announced plans for a four-day school week pilot-project this fall, becoming the first school board in Ontario to offer families a shortened school week schedule.
The ‘Catch the Ace’ jackpot is still up for grabs in Hagersville. There was no winner Thursday night so the total prize money is now an estimated $1,526,067.
The resurrection of Zellers is officially underway with the Cambridge location opening its doors to eager shoppers who lined up ahead of the store's official reopening.
The new provincial budget features items specific to southwestern Ontario, including a new English public elementary school in London, Ont. that will serve 556 students and include 88 licensed childcare spaces.
A young Strathroy, Ont. man believes there's a promising way forward in the effort to fight his disease. But, he's being told, right now, that path isn't open to him. Friends and family are stepping up to try and make a case for Kyle McPhee to receive immunotherapy treatments.
After a year-and-a-half without, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) says it’s narrowing in on hiring a permanent chief medical officer of health.
When the permit to construct a replacement span for the Ambassador Bridge expired in the summer of 2022, many thought that would bring an end to a 20-year saga of boarded up homes in the city’s west end.
For the first time, the owner of a building in Old Montreal has responded to questions about the fire — through his lawyer — addressing allegations that the building was unsafe.
The political class at the National Assembly has condemned the 'violent' and 'hateful' remarks that columnist Gilles Proulx allegedly made about Quebec solidaire MNAs during Richard Martineau's show on Qub radio in recent weeks.
The Tim Houston PC government remains firm in their promise they'll fix the health-care system by spending more taxpayer money on health than any previous government before.
Potato farmers on Prince Edward Island are taking the federal government to court due to the decision to restrict the movement of P.E.I. seed potatoes.
Manitoba First Nation police have arrested a man connected with a shooting on March 19 on Long Plain First Nation that resulted in the community going on lockdown.
Manitoba’s labour force is growing at a rate to supply enough workers for available positions into 2026, according to the province’s labour market outlook.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has cited an energy company for causing a series of earthquakes, including the largest recorded tremblor in the province's history.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has cited an energy company for causing a series of earthquakes, including the largest recorded tremblor in the province's history.
Edmonton-born actor Holly Cinnamon describes the Emmy Award winning HBO series Succession as a "cutthroat version" of The Office and "a joy" to work on. She makes her on-screen debut in the upcoming fourth and final season of the show.
Following a court appearance Thursday, a B.C. woman facing more than 20 charges – including manslaughter – in connection with alleged druggings of men who used escort services was remanded into custody.
The man killed in West Vancouver earlier this week was a retired urologist who was involved in several legal disputes over valuable real estate, CTV News has learned.
Courage Across Canada Tour featuring drag superstars Icesis Couture and Suki Dog (International Day of Pink)
Sudbury all-ages Courage Tour event Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. at College Boreal. (International Day of Pink)
Statement from Icesis Couture about new Courage Tour event (International Day of Pink)
