Calgary mayor looks to ban national flags at city hall; Palestinian group calls timing 'very hurtful'

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas says he's looking to put an end to the raising of national flags at city hall as a community association prepares to raise the Palestinian flag there for the first time.

Farkas wrote in a statement on X on Thursday that Calgary's flag policy has long allowed for any country recognized by Canada to have its flag flown at city hall on its national day.

"However, over the past several days, Calgarians from many communities have reached out with serious concerns about how national flag-raisings, of any country, can unintentionally heighten tensions here at home," Farkas wrote.

"These events, even when well-intentioned, increasingly risk becoming flashpoints for conflict and for the alarming rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia we are seeing in our city."

In September, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood.

Under Calgary's previous council, a Palestinian flag raising was approved for Nov. 30. That was later changed to Nov. 15, the date of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, to align with city policy.

In his post on X, Farkas wrote that city hall "must be a place that brings people together."

"National flags, particularly during times of global conflict, can have the opposite effect: instead of creating unity, they can create division, escalate emotions and make some Calgarians feel unsafe in a place that belongs to all of us."

For that reason, Farkas said, he would bring an urgent notice of motion during next week's council meeting that would amend the city's flag policy so that national flags would no longer be raised at city hall through the request process.

Haneen Omar, a member of the Palestinian Community Association of Calgary, told CBC News that initially, the first Palestinian flag-raising at city hall felt "validating and inclusive."

"We've always been part of the community, so it's not like it's our introduction to the community, but it really is like our coming out," Omar said. "It is our saying that we have a name, we have an identity, we've always been here."

Omar said the association was "hurt and disappointed" by the timing of Farkas' motion.

"It's very clearly worded to be associated with our event — our first time ever to have a flag raising. His own words suggest that it's on our behalf and on our account."

Omar doesn't dismiss the possibility that Farkas has long had plans to suggest changing the flag-raising policy, but she said she struggles to ignore the timing of Farkas' motion.