The mayor of a small Saskatchewan city is wondering if doing away with flag raisings is one way to avoid fights over whose flag gets to be raised.
It’s in the wake of a city council meeting on June 26 that saw passionate debate over whether the City of Estevan should raise a “straight pride” flag since the city had flown a pride flag in the past.
“It is an option … if there’s going to be fighting among the different groups, to try to head that off,” said Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig. Estevan is a city of over 13,000 in the province’s southeast.
The Saskatchewan city of Yorkton made a similar move several years ago to avoid potential fights and controversy over which community groups get to have their flags up.
“I guess it’s quieted down, and less tension. Less arguing,” said Mr. Ludwig of the Yorkton decision.
The June 26 meeting saw a group calling itself “Concerned Citizens SK” asking why their request to fly the straight pride flag at City Hall had been turned down, along with a request for a “Mom and Dad Week” proclamation.
“Concerned citizens find this denial extremely disturbing,” spokesperson Myles Fichter told councillors. More than a dozen members of Concerned Citizens were in attendance. One member of council was wearing a pride shirt—another had a pride pin.
Mr. Fichter pointed out the Estevan Public Library had an event celebrating pride month, and in the past the City of Estevan had raised the pride flag.
“The city has been engaging in this promotion and expanding it for some time,” said Mr. Fichter. “Concerned Citizens fully supports the concept of pride inclusivity which is essentially enshrouded by the Canadian Charter,” he added. “The public promotion of sexual diversity by the City of Estevan, however, we do not.”
Mr. Fichter argued exposing children to promotions around sexual diversity “violates the constitutional right of parents to raise and educate their own children.”
“Concerned Citizens does not understand Council’s decision to deny a symbol of straight pride, representing the worldview of over 90% of the citizenry, at the same time hosting a library event promoting symbols of sexual diversity. That’s not very inclusive and diverse.”
But he did not get any support from city councillors.
Councillor Rebecca Foord said the city’s flag policy prohibits any request if it is considered contentious, controversial, or divisive.
“It is my belief that flying the straight flag at City Hall will be all three of those things,” she said. “People who are out or still finding their place in the LGBTQ2S+ community, it’s getting increasingly dangerous and scary. Our world seems to be moving backwards when it comes to being accepting to all people,” she said.
It was a similar story with other councillors.
“Variations of the [straight pride] flag exist, and they have been used by groups who spread division and hatred. For these reasons I cannot support this request,” said councillor Kirsten Walliser.
Councillor Lindsay Clark asked Concerned Citizens to withdraw the application to fly the straight pride flag.
“This is a great community … this [straight pride] is something that I think we don’t need in our community,” he said.
‘Many Groups Come Forward’
Mr. Fichter said Concerned Citizens SK is not trying to expose anyone to hatred.“I don’t talk publicly about my sexuality, and I don’t want to hear about other people telling me about their sexuality. And I certainly don’t want the minors of our community being groomed in this fashion with this kind of language. And that’s what it does. That is the crux of the issue,” he told councillors near the end of the discussion.
Mr. Ludwig raised a proposal to change the city’s policy on flag raisings during the meeting, but that was as far as it went.
But he told The Epoch Times it would be one way for cities to avoid getting caught between groups with differing points of view.
“You have many groups come forward that either want flags or proclamations,” he said.
He suggested the city could look at only flying four flags—the national, provincial, and municipal flag, along with an indigenous flag, such as Treaty 4.
However, such a move would require the city to change its bylaw, and Ludwig said other councillors did not seem interested.
“I left it in the hands of council,” he said. “I got the sense that they weren’t interesting in doing that—so I respect that,” he said.
