‘Why we Pride’: La Ronge mayor returns from eyeopening Lithuania trip
It was an eye-opening trip for La Ronge Mayor Colin Ratushniak who participated in Baltic Pride in Vilnius, Lithuania earlier this week.
He was invited by the Office of the Embassy of Canada to speak at several events in that country’s capital city between June 2-5. The first event Ratushniak participated in was called Pride Voices and it was a collaboration of various speakers and moderated questions.
“It was a great opportunity to talk about what we are doing in La Ronge and northern Saskatchewan at the municipal and rural level, and it was very well received,” he said.
Another event he enjoyed was a panel with the mayors of Vilnius, Oslo and other special representatives. Ratushniak explained he was able to speak about the progress made when it comes to increasing the visibility of the LGBTQ2S+ community in La Ronge and the rising support. He noted that 90 per cent of tri-community businesses are publicly displaying a Pride Flag.