An urgent notice of motion to debate banning the raising of national flags at Calgary city hall was narrowly voted down during a Tuesday council meeting.
The proposal, brought forward by Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean, called for council to discuss amendments to Calgary’s flag policy during its scheduled public hearing meeting as an “urgent business” matter. Those amendments would include removing sections that allow flags of other countries to be flown at city hall.
“What was once intended as a unifying and symbolic gesture has increasingly become a source of division in our community,” said McLean.
The urgent notice of motion was defeated 8-7, with councillors primarily debating the urgency of the motion rather than the proposed amendments.
McLean said he plans to bring the motion forward to council’s executive committee but didn’t confirm when.
Mayor Jeromy Farkas, who has been vocal about his support for banning the raising of national flags at city hall, said discussing the matter in Tuesday’s meeting under “urgent business” would ensure council’s decision is “made in the most fair and equitable way possible.”
“If we were to accept this [motion] at a later meeting, we risk potentially having dozens of additional applications come in under the current rules,” Farkas said. “Doing it that way would create a really uneven playing field where some communities might receive recognition under the old system, while others would fall under the new one.”
Farkas pointed to the fact that two national flag raisings, commemorating Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Statehood Day and Albania’s National Independence Day, are still scheduled for later this month.
“It would really expose council to both political criticism and potential
