WESTLOCK — A “crosswalk and flagpole” bylaw will now be presented to Town of Westlock councillors for first reading at their Nov. 27 meeting following the recent verification of a neutrality petition.
According to a news release, the petition was submitted to the municipality at the end of September. In accordance with the Municipal Government Act (MGA), chief administrative officer Simone Wiley verified the petition, a process that was completed on Oct. 30.
In accordance with the MGA, the contents of the petition will now be formulated by administration into a formal municipal bylaw, although council will still need to vote on the bylaw.
“We have been in discussion with Alberta Municipal Affairs and are following provincial legislation at every step of this process,” said Wiley, in the release.
Incidentally, Wiley said the petition had to be signed by 10 per cent of town’s population, which roughly equates to 492 signatures as per the last federal census.
The catalyst for this petition was the painting of a crosswalk with the colours of the Progress Pride Flag back in June, which had been requested by the Thunder Alliance, a gay-straight alliance at R.F. Staples School.
The author of the petition, Stephanie Bakker, had previously spoken against the painting of the crosswalk at the June 12 council meeting.
She then returned to the Aug. 14 council meeting, along with several supporters, to read a letter outlining the details of a potential bylaw that would ensure crosswalks and flags on public property “remain neutral.”
Under this proposed bylaw, only the national flag of Canada, the provincial flag of Alberta and Town of Westlock flags would be raised on public property or at public facilities. It also restricts crosswalks from being painted with anything other than the traditional design of white laddered stripes.
In an interview on Nov. 3, Bakker said she came up with the idea of doing the petition following her appearance at the June 12 council meeting, as she felt the town was not receptive to the viewpoint of herself and her supporters.
Bakker said there was not a huge number of people helping her, though some asked to help after word got out about the petition.
“It wasn’t a huge team that did it. It was quite small. But we just sort kept at it, and I think we managed to reach every door in the town,” she said, noting that they were unable to enter some properties like apartment buildings.
When asked what will happen if this bylaw is defeated, Bakker said she will take issue if it occurs unfairly, but as long as the process is democratic, she has no plans to do anything further.
“Obviously, it will be disappointing if it gets voted down after all our work, but at least it will have been done by people of the town,” she said.
In the town’s release, Mayor Ralph Leriger said this petition carries a lot of considerations for council.
“It means we would not be able to fly flags of the Canadian military or of our schools, of the poppy for Remembrance Day or flags marking the Christmas season, as well as the Treaty 6, Métis and pride flags,” he said.
“It means we would not be able to paint our crosswalks in a way intended to beautify the town, to recognize town history or in any other manner prescribed by this petition.
“I’m not convinced this petition accurately represents the majority of our community’s desires, so there’s a lot to work through as we move forward.”
In response, Bakker said she would be surprised if the town was planning to paint the crosswalks any other colour, and argued the Canada flag is representative of all Canadians.
She added that history has demonstrated the importance of the government remaining neutral in matters of ideology, and while people can have differing opinions and debate each other, it should occur in a neutral public space that isn’t pushing for one side of the other.
“I think that’s what's most important is that people can have different opinions, but within that neutral space,” she said.
Bakker said some people have suggested she and her supporters are “asking for an angle” or that they’re against a particular group, adding that there have been a lot of aggressive comments made online about this issue and suggestions they are acting out of hate.
“We’ve gone through the town … There is no hate there. People just want things to be neutral and to live and let live,” she said.
“They just don’t want the government pushing anything. They’re not against anything; they just want the government to stay neutral."
