Council wants two new poles to keep municipal, provincial flags flying

It looks like the municipal and provincial flags will always fly at the North Grenville Municipal Centre. Council discussed buying two new angled flag poles, to be installed at the building’s entrances, during committee of the whole last night. 

The suggestion was first brought up by Councillor Doreen O’Sullivan last month, when a request from Rainbow Union Dundas & Grenville to fly the pride and trans flags meant the municipal and provincial flags had to come down for the month of June. She asked staff to look into costing for two new poles, to accommodate courtesy flags.

Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture Mark Guy says the cost is $310 for the poles and $50 for shipping. The cost to replace the flags annually is $320. 

O’Sullivan says she supports flying courtesy flags, but feels strongly that the North Grenville, Ontario and Canada flags should always be on display.  

A resolution was tabled to go ahead with the purchase, though council did debate which flags should go where. The wording specifying which flags would go on the angled poles was taken out and council agreed to discuss the flag policy in full at a later date. 

When asked how often requests come forward to fly two courtesy flags at the same time, Clerk Cahl Pominville confirmed last month was the first time since the municipal centre was built that a single group asked for two flags and only the second or third time multiple requests were made for the same month. He also noted requests to fly courtesy flags are declining. 

The final decision is set for next week.