A town councillor in Glovertown is working to promote the LGBTQ community in rural Newfoundland.

Paul Whelan says he and his husband moved back to the province last year and fell back in love with the province, so much so in fact that he ran for and got elected to the Glovertown council.

He says while there are great supports for the LGBTQ community in the larger centres, there isn’t a whole lot in rural areas.

That inspired Whelan to bring a motion to council to recognize pride month, which he says was passed unanimously.

Whelan says it is important to take on such initiatives in the community because there are still people out there that feel threatened, scared of physical violence, and afraid of losing their families because of who they are.

He says that is more evident in rural Newfoundland than in the cities, and such initiatives are important because it shows that there are people to reach out to.

The pride flag will be raised during an event at Glovertown town hall at 11 a.m. on June 1st.

As well, Whelan is promoting a pride walk at Ken Diamond Park on Saturday, June 4 at 11 a.m.