Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is calling for an end to the raising of other country’s national flags at city hall, saying such events are causing division.
In a letter posted to social media Thursday, Farkas says his urgent Notice of Motion will be presented at council next week.
“Calgarians from many communities have reached out with serious concerns about how national flag raisings, of any country, can unintentionally heighten tensions here at home,” the mayor said. “These events, even when well-intentioned, increasingly risk becoming flashpoints for conflict and for the alarming rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia we are seeing in our city.”
Farkas’s motion seeks to amend Calgary’s Flag Policy so that national flags can no longer be requested raised at City Hall. The change would apply to all countries.
Under current rules, citizens can request the raising of national flags from countries officially recognized by the Government of Canada on their designated national days.
Calgary city council doesn’t have the power to determine which countries Canada recognizes, so existing policy means any national flag request that meets the criteria has to be considered equally.
As such, the Israeli flag is raised each year on May 14, Israel’s Independence Day.
This year, following Canada’s official recognition of Palestine, the Palestinian flag is set to be raised on Nov. 15, the National Day of Palestine.
Even if the proposed motion is passed, two other previously approved national flags — including the Palestinian one — will still fly later this month, as they were approved under the current policy.
“City Hall must be a place that brings people together,” Farkas said. “National flags, particularly during times of global conflict, can have the opposite effect: instead of creating unity, they can create division, escalate emotions, and make some Calgarians feel unsafe in a place that belongs to all of us.”