Markham councillors vote against motion to prohibit raising of foreign flags on city property

CTVnews.ca
February 12, 2020
Katherine DeClerq

The City of Markham has voted against a motion put forward by some residents that would prohibit the flying of foreign national flags on city property.

The motion, which was discussed at a city council meeting on Tuesday, stems from an incident in October of last year when the city decided to raise the national flag of the People’s Republic of China in commemoration of the country’s national day.

Markham resident Shanta Sundarason was one of the people who reached out to the mayor’s office to say the raising of the flag was inappropriate as there was a lot of political unrest in Hong Kong and in China.

“It was at a time of such unhappiness, it caused a lot of anger in the community,” she told CTV News Toronto. “I got a response … ‘we’ve heard you, we understand, the flag raising is cancelled.’”

But Sundarason said the flag raising took place regardless and was attended by Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti as well as a few city councillors.

“That, of course, upset and angered people even more; not that it was going ahead but it had cancelled and we hadn’t been told it was reinstated,” she said. “There was a protest that happened, albeit a peaceful protest, it happened when the flag raising happened and that should have told the council and the mayor that there is unhappiness in the city.”

Sundarason, who identifies as a human rights and social activist, said that after reviewing the list of national flags raised in Markham she was upset to learn that some of the countries have “terrible human rights records.”

The city’s flag raising policy has been in effect since 2011 and applies to the Markham Civic Centre as well as any municipal building or property. Residents may request that a nation’s flag be raised in honour of national or independence days, in support of fundraising drives or to celebrate multicultural events.

The policy cites a celebration of Markham’s diversity to “honour those who have contributed to the life of the city” as one of its general principals--however Sundarason says that the raising of a flag is effectively a political statement and that there are better ways to celebrate diversity in the city.

“The argument is it celebrates diversity and we are arguing it does not, it basically causes division and it’s not something we want to see in the City of Markham.”

The motion caused some controversy in city council, with some citizens arguing that the prohibition of foreign national flags may be racially motivated. An online petition says that a “select handful of Markham councillors” want to change the policy to restrict cultural expression.

“We support the City of Markham maintaining its current flag raising policy that celebrates the richness of being Canada's most diverse city, and not the politicizing of national flags by councillors who are being driven by political agendas,” the petition says.

City councillor Andrew Keyes responded to the petition on social media, saying that he is appalled at the suggestion the motion is racially motivated.

“I have directly heard from hundreds of residents of all ethnicities who have expressed grave concerns regarding the current policy, and they have asked that the policy be revised,” he wrote on Facebook.

Keyes polled his constituents in Ward 5 and asked whether the city should continue to raise foreign national flags at the civic centre. The poll, which is posted to his website, shows that 90 per cent of respondents support the changes to the flag policy.

Speaking with CTV News Toronto, Scarpitti called the motion a “waste of time” before the vote and said the raising of a foreign national flag is not seen as an endorsement or a political statement.

“It’s another way of celebrating the wonderful diversity in the City of Markham,” he said.

Scarpitti said that while there are many ways the city celebrates diversity, raising a foreign flag is one of the ways “we make people feel at home.”

“In many respects (the motion) is really anti-Canadian because I think we are envied around the world when it comes to the cultural diversity we have attracted to our country.”

Council voted in favour of keeping the current flag raising policy 8-5.