Sign up for the paNOW newsletter

City nixes request to review less graphic flag designs

Jan 16, 2019 | 2:00 PM

City councillors have decided against a request from a national abortion rights group to look at options for less graphic flag designs at city hall.  

The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) requested city councillors use their own local bylaws and the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards when deciding on public signage, including courtesy flags. The group said “graphic images of aborted fetuses” – such as the one with a cartoon fetus used by the Prince Albert Right to Life Group – can be traumatic for the public and suggested the advertising code can be an effective guide when it comes to potentially problematic advertising.

“We’re trying to educate councils, like Prince Albert and others, about this issue, that it is an issue of possibly, discrimination, gender discrimination against women,” said Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada. “As a local government, the City of Prince Albert and other cities are obligated to uphold Charter rights, which include equality, so it’s very important that cities understand that they should not be approving hateful messaging.”

The letter was on the agenda at city council’s executive committee meeting Monday but, councillors decided not to pursue the issue further. A motion from Ward 3 Coun. Evert Botha to forward the information to the city’s solicitor for further review was defeated, with councillors voting instead to essentially take no further action on the request.