Fort St. John city proclamations focus on diversity in May and June

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City-proclamations-June — City councillors and Mayor Lilia Hansen presenting the Filipino Heritage Month 2025 proclamation at the May 26th regular meeting. (Caitlin Coombes, Energeticcity.ca)

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Four proclamations have been made for the months of May and June, encouraging cultural education, acceptance, accessibility and active living.

During the May 26th City of Fort St. John council meeting, four proclamations were passed for the months of May and June.

Members of the Barangay Fort St. John Society went before council to request the month of June be proclaimed Filipino Heritage Month 2025 and the Filipino flag be raised outside City Hall.

“Filipinos in our city remain appreciative of the numerous opportunities and warm receptive environment,” the request letter stated.

The city voted unanimously in favour of proclaiming June 2025 as Filipino Heritage Month, with the goal of “increasing understanding” between Filipino and Canadian people in Fort St. John.

The North Peace Pride Society also appeared as a delegation before the council requesting a proclamation.

Members of the society’s board requested the week of June 1st to June 7th, 2025 be proclaimed to be Pride Week and the pride flag be flown outside City Hall during this time.

Members of the North Peace Pride Society receiving the Pride Week 2025 proclamation from Fort St. John city council and Mayor Lilia Hansen. (Caitlin Coombes, Energeticcity.ca)

During this year’s celebrations, which mark the society’s 10th anniversary, the society told council it would be holding a walk and festival at Centennial Park on June 7th with local performers, a band and a dance at the Pomeroy Hotel later that evening.

Council voted unanimously for the proclamation and scheduled the pride flag to be flown outside City Hall from June 1st to June 7th.

David Green and Kathryn Rutherford, recreation programmers with the City of Fort St. John, also attended the council meeting as a delegation, requesting the month of June be announced as Recreation and Parks Month.

The month is an initiative by the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA) intended to “promote the benefits of healthy and vibrant communities” according to the duo and 2025 would be the seventh year the city participated.

The city is also involved in the 2025 ParticipAction Community Challenge, where communities across the country compete to gather the most pledges made by residents to be more active outdoors.

The community with the most pledges by June 30th will receive $100,000 for improvements to the community’s outdoor activities and facilities.

Green and Rutherford explained Fort St. John has yet to win the challenge, but has come close in the past.

They also explained there are monetary prizes for communities who get close to the top, but those amounts are not announced ahead of time and change from year to year.

David Green and Kathryn Rutherford being presented with the Recreation and Parks Month 2025 proclamation by the City of Fort St. John council. (Caitlin Coombes, Energeticcity.ca)

The final delegation of the meeting came from the Northeast B.C. Accessibility Committee, which advocated to council that May 25th to May 31st be proclaimed National AccessAbility Week in the city of Fort St. John, which council unanimously approved.

The delegation explained the week was essential for educating residents on how to make society accessible for all residents, and how to best communicate with and interact with individuals from all walks of life.