Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas intends to stop flying national flags in front of City Hall as a community group plans to fly the Palestinian flag there for the first time this weekend.
Farkas announced Thursday on social media that he intends to introduce an urgent initiative next week aimed at amending the city's flag policy so that “national flags will no longer be flown above City Hall.”
He noted that the change would “apply equally to all countries” if it is approved by the city council.
“Over the past few days, Calgarians from many communities have expressed serious concerns that raising the national flag of any country could inadvertently increase tensions here at home,” Farkas said in a statement.
“These events, even if well-intentioned, increasingly risk becoming flashpoints of conflict and the alarming rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia we are seeing in our city.”
Under the City of Calgary's flag policy, residents may request that the national flags of countries recognized by the federal government be flown on that country's national day.
Farkas noted that the city council does not have the legal authority to determine which countries Canada recognizes.
According to the City of Calgary, the request to fly the flag of the State of Palestine was received on September 24, three days after the federal government announced that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood.
“We decided we could have a day in the sun like everyone else,” said Haneen Omar, a member of the Calgary Palestinian Community Association.
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“This is really just a moment for us to say we have a moment for our community.”
While the request was initially approved for Nov. 30, the city said Thursday it decided to move the flag raising to Nov. 15, Palestine's Independence Day, in accordance with city policy.
Lisa Libin, president of the Jewish Foundation of Calgary, said the community was “extremely disappointed” to learn the flag would be raised; and reported these concerns to City Hall.
“We expressed our concern and the danger that raising the flag like this could bring not only to our community, but also to the message it sends to our city,” Libin told Global News.
City Hall has 47 flag-raising ceremonies planned this year, according to city officials. These include Ukraine, Israel, Eritrea, Haiti, Poland and Jamaica.
Following Saturday's event, two more previously approved national flag-raising ceremonies are planned for this year, including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania.
If Farkas' proposal is approved, national flag ceremonies will be banned in the future.
“City Hall should be a place that brings people together,” Farkas said in a statement. “National flags, especially during global conflicts, can have the opposite effect.”
The mayor's announcement was met with disappointment, Omar said, noting that Saturday's event was not a protest or rally to make a political statement.
“We are obviously hurt and disappointed by our new mayor’s comments,” she said. “To say that if we get the rights everyone else will get them means no one else should get them, or to suggest that it's divisive, is sad.”
Libin also expressed disappointment, noting that changing the flag-raising date predates the council's discussion of the proposal and would prohibit the flying of the Israeli flag in the future.
“This flag has been associated for the last two years with calls for the death of Jews,” she said. “It’s very difficult for us to come to terms with the fact that we will allow this flag to fly and not ours.”
The move comes after Regina city council revised its flag policy earlier this year.
According to the city, a variety of flags fly at all times near Calgary City Hall, including the flags of the provinces and territories in the order of their entry into the confederation, the Canadian flag, the Alberta flag, the Union Jack, the Calgary city flag and the Treaty 7 flag.
Farkas said he plans to present his proposal next week.
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