New flag policy coming to West Nipissing
New flag policy coming to West Nipissing
Council trying to get ahead of controversial flag debates.
Last week council debated a request from a group in River Valley that wants the municipality to install new flag poles so that both the Canadian flag and the Franco-Ontarian flag can be flown.
Council heard from staff that there are already flag poles in that area but they are for the West Nipissing’s “Joie de vivre” flags. Staff suggested that two new poles be added at a cost of $600 per pole in order to keep the municipal flags while also flying the Canadian and Franco-Ontarian flags.
Council was in general agreement but councillor Daniel Gagne brought up an important point. He asked if the city had an official flag policy for when it came to special groups, causes or ideological flags being flown.
Gagne said “I think we're going to be heading into a direction where everyone's going to be asking for flag poles and flying different kind of flags at different time of the year.” He added “I think it might be a good idea to kind of maybe write up a document that staff can actually follow.”
He proposed that they could have designated flag poles across the city were they fly the francophone flag but identify it as the flag they change depending on the requests they get.
The CAO concurred and said they would draft a policy and bring it forward at a future meeting.
Flag Controversies in Neighbouring Municipalities
Gagne is likely alluding to the recent flag controversies that have erupted in neighbouring municipalities. Last month, the East Ferris municipal council voted 3-2 against flying the Pride flag at city hall. First, the local group asked that their flag be flown for the entire month of June and then requested that it be flown for just one day (June 1st). In both cases, council defeated the motions.
Councillor Terry Kelly said “people can fly whatever flag they want on their own property” but he was not in favour of having the Pride flag flown on municipal property. Two other councillors supported his position.
The town of Powassan also faced controversy last summer when the public library decided to fly the Pride flag despite objections from many local residents and some councillors. That council has since worked on developing a more formal flag policy and are hoping to avoid controversies come June.
The Pride flag has become a controversial symbol across Canada in recent years. While traditionally being associated with acceptance, it has grown to include a wide array of ideologies that many do not agree with. Opponents of the flag have frequently criticized Pride organizations for pushing disputed gender theories into school curriculums and supporting controversial medical treatments on children that have since been banned in many European countries as of late.
Supporters of the flag defend it as a symbol of inclusions for all, while opponents describe it as a political movement.
Some raise concerns that many flags have inappropriately taken on more importance than the Canadian flag. For example in West Nipissing, many of the existing Canadian flags at municipal buildings are well overdue to be replaced. Before authorizing any other flag or pole expenditures, many believe the Canadian flags should be fixed first.
West Nipissing Pride
Although West Nipissing council has never debated or voted on any motion regarding Pride flags, the municipality has informally allowed the Pride flag to be flown on a municipal flag pole at Minnehaha bay for the last few years during the month of June. They have also allowed flags to be flown on municipal street lights during the summer months.
According to a recent Facebook post by West Nipissing Pride, the flag will be raised on municipal property once again on June 1st of this year.
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I note that these men are having no problem speaking English! However at the Au Chateau Board meetings they now say they are 'uncomfortable' using English {Jamie Restoule and the others agreed.} Although they have had no problem speaking English for the last year and a half, they suddenly find it 'uncomfortable' to speak or listen to Englsih. A former Councillor and Board member confirmed that the Board spoke English for the 8 years she was on the Au Chateau Board! Gagne and Dupuis without any reference to procedural by laws just said that, ''....members can ask questions, answer questions and make comments in French. Asking questons, making comments, and answering questions amounts to a DISCUSSION. So the discussion on any issue is now in French. This excudes the only English speaker, me, from fully participating in Au Chateau Board discussions. It is amazing that they had this discussion in English since they say they are so uncomfortable using the language!
The ONLY flag that should be raised and flown is the Canadian maple leaf flag….