Alberta town to go to the polls for bylaw that would remove Pride sidewalk, restrict flags
Global News
Five months after a Pride crosswalk was painted in Westlock, Alta., the town council started the legislative journey on a bylaw that would have to remove the coloured paint.
Five months after a Pride crosswalk was painted in Westlock, Alta., the town council started the legislative journey on a bylaw that would have to remove the coloured paint. Citizens will go to the polls next year to vote on a bylaw that would restrict how crosswalks in the town could be painted and what flags could be flown on town property.
The proposed bylaw would only allow town crosswalks to be painted with a “standard white stripe pattern.” Only flags from the town, the province or Canada’s national flag would be allowed to fly on flagpoles on public property or facilities. And in both spaces, no decorations or flags “supporting political, social, or religious movements or commercial entities” would be allowed. The bylaw also would prevent the grandfathering of existing crosswalks or flags.
Stephanie Bakker, a petition organizer, said the effort was to keep town council “neutral” after plans were made to paint one of the crosswalks in Pride colours.
“I believe it’s very important for government to remain neutral, not to promote any one ideology or cause or anything above another,” Bakker told Global News. “Where they play favourites, they can also later discriminate against. They shouldn’t have the power to either play favourites or discriminate.”
Deputy and acting mayor Murtaza Jamaly said the crosswalk was proposed by the Thunder Alliance, a local secondary school gay-straight alliance, in May with community support: the local Family and Community Support Services youth coordinator endorsed the idea, local businesses donated funds for the paint, and the only requirement from the town was permission to paint the crosswalk.
“It’s actually something that our council has been talking about doing for a number of years, and we always felt like it would come better if it came from the community and this was that golden opportunity,” Jamaly said.
“We felt that this was a symbol of what our community represents and it supported a group that had long been discriminated (against), and we felt the need to prop up that group.”
Jamaly said council has been talking about a Pride crosswalk for years, but they wanted to wait for a strong signal of community support.
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