Girl Guides of Canada aim for equity, inclusion and diversity

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Girl Guides of Canada (GGC) recently weathered a kerfuffle over the name change from “Brownies”  to “Embers” for younger guides, as the former was considered racially divisive.

Now a nix on St. Patrick’s Day activities for guides has drawn an accusation that the organization is teaching Christians to be ashamed.

The Girl Guide publication Guidepost, which is for adults in guiding, recently offered tips for “celebrating friendship in March” and suggested that St. Patrick’s Day activities were not the best idea:

“It’s important to offer activities where all members can participate and feel included. Activities must be secular (non-religious) and not connected to holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day.”

That means finding alternatives to the usual shamrocks, pots of gold or leprechauns.

A person who prefers to remain anonymous claims that banning St. Patrick’s Day is a way of teaching children to be ashamed of Christianity and their own culture. 

He writes in an email: “It is unfortunate that the institution seems particularly set on shaming Christians, as we do not see similar bans announced for any other cultures or religions — not that I think there should be! We should actually be celebrating these diverse cultures, not suppressing them …

“St Patrick’s Day may have Christian roots, but is in many ways a secular holiday celebrated by people of all sorts of backgrounds … We are witnessing, first hand, the destruction of tradition, celebration, and pride within our society.” 

Asked for comment, Helen Matteer, the GGC’s manager of diversity, equity and inclusion, sent a statement noting that GGC is a secular organization, “which means that we are not affiliated with any religion, faith-based beliefs, behaviours or traditions. As a secular organization, we welcome all girls, no matter if they have a religious affiliation or not.  

“Girl Guide activities do not focus on or celebrate any religious holidays or holidays with religious origins.”

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To get that point across, the statement continues, GGC has become more explicit in language, “around what being secular means for local group activities, including providing alternative ideas for some activities that may have been overlooked before.”

Matteer added GGC aims to serve all girls in Canada equally, “and be a place where all girls and women feel welcome, included and can say ‘I belong here.’

“We have guidelines and policies which outline how we foster inclusion, and how we work towards equity and value diversity, as well as resources and trainings to support our volunteers.”