Resident Becki Schultz wants city council to either remove [select flags] on public property or add other flags to greater represent the whole community.
Presently, in addition to the Canadian and Saskatchewan flags flying at public city buildings - there are also flags representing Pride, Treaty 4 and Métis.
Schultz raised her concerns during council’s April 25 regular meeting. However, because of the content in her presentation, council quickly voted 5-0 to receive and file the report and moved to the next topic.
Councillors Dawn Luhning and Crystal Froese abstained from voting.
Public forum
Schultz began by expressing her surprise over how neither she nor anyone else can ask city council questions during the meeting while only council members are allowed to make inquiries of presenters.
Based on a pre-meeting conversation with a city council support worker, citizens cannot ask council questions because members “do not want to be put on the spot,” she recalled. To Schultz, she was incredulous that taxpayers were not allowed to ask questions of elected members in the public square.
Schultz was also surprised that the city clerk — “an unelected, appointed person” — decides who can address council and what topics are allowed.
Deputy Mayor Coun. Heather Eby interrupted Schultz and urged her to speak about her concern with public flags.
Continuing, Schultz recalled the council support worker telling her that she could call council members privately, but she felt that defeated the purpose of publicly stating her concerns.
“So much for democracy, eh? Don’t worry, folks, that’s a rhetorical question. I don’t want to put you on the spot,” Schultz said.
Flag concerns
The Moose Jaw Police Service flies the Canadian, Saskatchewan, Treaty 4, Métis and “so-called” Pride flags over its headquarters, which, to Schultz, indicates that the organization applies the law based on a person’s ethnicity, race, “so-called” sexual orientation, or all three.
Furthermore, she was concerned that the Moose Jaw Public Library displays the Pride flag in its north-facing window while a bench on Main Street is painted with that flag.
To Schultz, she thought the flying of the gay pride flag at police headquarters and the library indicated that both institutions supported and promoted “the breakdown of the traditional family,” a married man and woman who have children together.
“The traditional family is the bedrock of human civilization…,” Schultz said. “Taxpayer dollars should not be used to support and promote the breakdown of the traditional family in our society.”
Since the police service and library are flying these flags, they should also fly other flags that represent heterosexuals, involuntary celibates (incels) and abstainers, and all ethnicities and races, Schultz remarked. If these two institutions don’t do that, they should remove the Pride and ethnic flags from their property.
Moreover, the bench should either be repainted or removed.
If the city, police service and library do not fly or display only the Canadian or Saskatchewan flags, Schultz expected them to fly a flag representing her ethnic background.
“I will happily, personally pay for my ethnic flag and the installation of my ethnic flag so that it may be flown at the Moose Jaw Police Service and so that it may be displayed at the Moose Jaw Public Library and on publicly funded property on Main Street,” she said.
Schultz finished by mentioning certain people and ideas, but Eby interrupted again and thanked her for the presentation before cutting off the microphone.
