By Armchair Mayor

Why does flying a flag at City Hall need to involve lawyers?

Oct 31, 2018 | 7:05 AM

KAMLOOPS — WHAT SAD TIMES we live in when flying flags and hanging banners becomes a Charter of Rights and Freedoms issue.

Without a word of discussion, it was announced at Tuesday’s Kamloops City council meeting that new requests for the flying of flags in front of City Hall will not be accepted, though any that have already been processed will be honoured.

It’s not City council’s fault; it’s not as if they suddenly decided to renege on their earlier stand, which was to plant a new flag pole out on the street in front of City Hall for use by community groups.

At the time, everyone thought that was that on a situation that had its roots in a request more than a year ago to fly a rainbow flag on the occasion of the annual Gay Pride parade.

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The problem is, if you fly a flag for one group, do you have to fly one for anyone who asks?

The reason for hitting the pause button on flags and banners is a B.C. Court of Appeal decision last month. The court ruled that TransLink in the Lower Mainland must reconsider a decision to refuse advertising by an anti-abortion group on public buses.

The ads, which included photos of human fetuses and the words “Abortion kills children,” had been rejected on the grounds of taste.

It’s a complicated case with several fine points of law being examined, and has re-opened the whole discussion of how controversial expression of opinion is handled by governments.

That’s the kind of world we live in now — complicated and litigious.

The kind of world where something as basic as flying a flag or hanging a banner has to be examined in the light of competing rights, and respect for balance, and carefully justified through “a rigorous and transparent process,” and be open to Charter of Rights challenges.

And maybe that’s the way it has to be, but wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to resolve such simple things with lawyers and judges?

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.