On June 1 at 10 a.m., York Regional Police will host their official Pride flag-raising ceremony at their headquarters in Aurora.

Please join York Regional Police officers, including members of their LGBTQ Internal Support Network, along with representatives from York Pride Fest, PFLAG and other local LGBT organizations, as we celebrate at the first event of York Region's 16th Pride Week Festival.

The flag-raising ceremony will be preceded by brief formalities where Chief Eric Jolliffe will bring greetings on behalf of YRP. During the event, York Regional Police will also unveil their 2016 Pride Vehicle.

All are welcome to attend.

The Rainbow Flag was first flown in York Region by the Town of Newmarket in 2002, but then followed years without any sign of the flag in any municipality.

As evidence of York Region's transformation into one of Canada's most diverse and inclusive regions, 2009 saw a dramatic change when the City of Vaughan and Towns of Markham and Newmarket agreed to fly the Rainbow Flag during our Pride Week. The Towns of Georgina and Aurora joined this new tradition in 2010 when, for the first time, the flag was also raised at every Seneca college campus in the region. In 2013, the Town of East Gwillimbury also flew the flag throughout Pride Week.

Since 2011 the Town of Richmond Hill has not only agreed to fly the flag, but has also hosted an official flag-raising ceremony, as has the City of Markham since 2013 and the Towns of Aurora and Georgina since 2015. Last year also marked the first occasion on which a flag-raising ceremony was hosted by York Regional Police. This year we are honoured that official rainbow flag-raising ceremonies are to be hosted not only by each of these municipalities but also by the City of Vaughan.