Flag flap prompts new rules

By Matthew Horwood

After examining the City of Ottawa’s rules related to special proclamations and symbolic flag raisings at City Hall, the city has issued a revised “Flag Protocol Procedure” in a bid to avoid controversies of the kind that have flared over the past year — including a high-profile flap over the flying of an anti-abortion group’s banner over the municipal headquarters.

The new rules for flag raising, which came into effect on Oct. 9, were outlined in a memo released by city clerk and solicitor Rick O’Connor. The revised protocol requires that any organization seeking to fly its flag on city property must have a mandate, program or activity that is directly connected with the municipality.

The new policy will continue a long-standing program that allows certain groups a chance to spread awareness about their cause or mission by temporarily displaying their flag at one of the most prominent locations in the capital: City Hall.

The city will also permit the raising of flags of organizations whose mandate aligns with special “days of awareness” or celebration that are recognized by the Ontario or federal government. Groups that request a flag raising must submit their request to the city’s protocol office at least four weeks before the proposed date of the event.

The changes to the policy came after the anti-abortion organization Right to Life Ottawa hoisted its flag above City Hall in May. The raising was immediately met with anger on social media, and seven city councillors released a letter demanding the flag be taken down.

Mayor Jim Watson was criticized for allowing the flag to be raised, but he said at the time that he did not approve the March for Life flag display. Watson said he was “disappointed” by the incident, and as a result he called for a review of the flag-raising rules soon after.

“There has to be some connection to the city, whether it’s a group we fund or a group we are partnering with,” Watson said of the new rules. “These kinds of proclamations are really to bring people together, not to be divisive and not to be connected with religion or politics.”

The memo makes clear that the city will not fly the flag of any group whose “philosophy contradicts the City of Ottawa’s policies or bylaws, or which promotes hatred, violence or racism, or are politically or religiously motivated.”

According to Cathy Bowles, the city’s chief of protocol, it’s possible that groups or organizations that had requests approved in the past may no longer qualify for flag-raisings.

Planned Parenthood Ottawa has expressed some concerns about the city’s new flag rules. Catherine Macnab, executive director for Planned Parenthood, which works to protect women’s right to choose abortion, criticized the city for pursuing the policy changes quietly rather than opening the rewriting of the rules to public consultations.

“Maybe some people don’t want to court that kind of debate and discussion, but I just think it’s really important because city policy reflects all of us,” Macnab recently told the Ottawa Citizen.

The raising of the anti-abortion flag was not the first time a City Hall flag-raising had sparked controversy. After flying the Vietnamese flag for that country’s national day in 2014, the city drew criticism from protesters who said the flag was offensive to those who had fled Vietnam to settle in Canada.

Watson said the aim of the new rules is to ensure that there is a legitimate connection between organizations that raise their flags and the city.

“Women have the right to choose whether they are going to have an abortion or not, and it clarifies this to those groups so that people know up front what’s acceptable and what’s not.