Council quashes debate on banning national flag-raising ceremonies at Calgary city hall
Global News
Calgary city council rejected an attempt to add an urgent motion on banning national flag raising ceremonies at city hall to Tuesday's meeting agenda while questioning its urgency.
A debate on the future of raising of national flags at Calgary city hall is not going ahead Tuesday, after city council defeated an attempt to add an urgent motion to the meeting agenda while questioning its urgency.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas announced last week on social media that he intended to introduce an urgent motion at Tuesday’s meeting that aims to amend the city’s flag policy so that “national flags will no longer be raised at city hall.”
Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean introduced the motion, and argued the raising of other countries flags in municipal plaza has “increasingly become a source of division in our community.”
“Recently, this practice has been used in ways that have inflamed tensions including instances where it has been associated with antisemitic messaging and behaviour,” McLean told council.
“As a municipal government, we have an obligation to ensure that the spaces and ceremonies we oversee reflect neutrality, unity, and respect for all residents.”
However, city council rejected adding the urgent motion to Tuesday’s council agenda in an 8-7 vote; adding an urgent motion to a council agenda requires 10 votes.
Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness questioned the urgency of the motion, as notices of motions are typically introduced at the city’s executive committee for a technical review before going to city council as a whole for a full debate.
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