Toronto councillors propose motion to ban raising foreign flags at City Hall
CBC
Two Toronto councillors have brought forward a motion to ban raising foreign flags at Toronto City Hall and civic centres.
The motion, titled “One Country, One Flag,” was proposed by Coun. Jon Burnside and includes other amendments to the city’s current flag policy — which was adopted in 1999.
It recommends that the city also no longer raise flags of or requested by non-profit or charitable organizations and for staff to review the policy by early 2027. Council will consider the motion next week.
The motion was inspired by not wanting to make the city a “divisive” place, said Coun. Michael Thompson, who seconded the motion.
“There’s a lot of geopolitical issues around the world and we’re being asked to take sides,” he said. “I don’t think it’s our business.”
By choosing to fly certain flags, it looks like the city is taking a position in conflicts that “we don’t know anything about,” said Thompson.
Instead, he said, council should focus on fixing local issues, like homelessness, snow clearance and transportation.
He said the city has been asked to raise various global flags, including some allegedly “not sanctioned flags.”
“Council is not the place to negotiate or to be involved in geopolitical issues and conflicts around the world,” he said.
Thompson added the motion will also help “reduce the temperature” and division that’s stemmed from global issues reaching local Toronto communities. He did not expand on what communities or issues he was referring to.
“A lot of what we're seeing coming out of these flag issues revolves around hate,” he said.
“What we should be doing is encouraging Torontonians and people who live in our city to get along, to work together and to remove hate.”
The motion lists several flags that would still be allowed to fly at City Hall and city ceremonies, including:
The city’s current flag policy allows, upon request, the raising of flags of Global Affairs Canada recognized nations and flags of a non-profit organization.
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