Rural gay-straight alliance summit held in Strathmore

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

Strathmore set the stage for Canada’s first rural gay-straight alliance (GSA) summit last week, where hundreds of students, dignitaries and teachers attended the historical event to discuss GSA roles in rural Alberta-based schools.
Over 200 students from 15 schools across Alberta participated in the groundbreaking summit on Oct. 11, the first of its kind.
Complete with a resource fair held at Strathmore Travelodge, workshop sessions hosted by Wheatland Crisis Society, Calgary Queer Arts Society and Altview focused on healthy relationships, LGBTQ+ 101 and the creation of GSAs. The summit also featured GSA and LGBTQ+ advocates keynote speakers Gregory John and Mike Morrison.
John, who attended Strathmore High School (SHS) in his youth, is the director of Strathmore GSA and Diversity Summit. He spoke about his hardship of coming out, sexual abuse and healing, and he recognized the summit as therapeutic and epoch-making.
“Edmonton and Calgary have been doing a GSA summit for the last seven years and I think those are very safe places to have conversations around diversity. In cities of a million people, obviously there’s a lot more networking that can go on between schools, so it was really important to have it here, because the conversations don’t necessarily get out here as frequently as they do in Calgary,” said John. “It wasn’t the easiest time coming out and I almost ended my own life as a student here, where I didn’t have support. This is deeply personal for me. If I can do something like this and provide the opportunity for kids to avoid that, then I’ve done my job.
“I think that’s really the meaning of life, when it comes down to it, to set the roadmap a little easier if you can for students.”
The event also welcomed guest speakers Siksika First Nation Elder Clarence Wolfleg Sr., Alberta Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Hon. Sarah Hoffman, SHS principal Kyle Larson and Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule. Strathmore town Councillor Bob Sobol and Chestermere-Rocky View MLA and UCP Deputy Leader Leela Aheer were also in attendance.
“It is the first GSA summit we’ve got, and who thought that a typical small western community like Strathmore could pull this off? But we did and it’s because of progressive-minded people like yourselves and Gregory John … who worked hard to make this event come to life,” said Fule. “It takes brave people to do something different … and you all are trailblazers. You can make it so you can all be free to be who you are.”
Gay-straight alliances and queer-straight alliances are peer-support networks run by students with help from school staff to promote respectful environments and relationships for the prevention or elimination of bullying and discrimination, a safe inclusive space for all students, and equity for sexual and gender minority students.
SHS created its GSA in early 2017 with initially five students participating regularly. The group now has 42 students.
“GSAs have only been allowed within the last couple of years – let alone celebrating it – and coming to a day that’s just for them, I think is huge,” said Julie Wallace, SHS teacher and event organizer.
On Dec. 15, 2017 the Alberta government passed Bill 24. The legislation assures that policies for gay-straight alliances are to be created in all Alberta schools, it strengthens the minister of education’s ability to ensure every school authority complies with the law, and it protects the identities of students involved in a GSA from being outed to their parents without consent.
“Fortunately, we were in a position to bring forward a bill to say absolutely not will we tolerate – we actually made it illegal – for your membership of the GSA to be disclosed before you make a decision to do that yourself,” said Hoffman.
“I think it’s important that we follow the direction that we see from our youth, so that 20 years from now (they) talk about how (they) were at the very first conference and how much bigger it is then. It’s important for all of us to move forward and that we don’t move backwards. Some people like to pretend that there was a better time. I think the better time is tomorrow.”
With donations from private donors, private companies and public funding from the provincial and municipal government, Strathmore GSA raised nearly $40,000 to offset costs for the event and to cushion future GSA student programming. Hoffman also presented the local alliance with a $24,710 cheque at the event in Strathmore.
A total of 60 schools were invited to attend the summit.