The City of Regina has cancelled plans to officially raise the Palestinian flag at city hall on Friday.
“At the direction of Mayor Sandra Masters, the flag raising and ceremony for Palestine that had been planned for tomorrow, Friday November 15, will not proceed,” the city said Thursday afternoon in email that did not contain any further details.
The mayor’s office has not yet responded to the Leader-Post’s request for comment.
On Thursday morning, Palestine Solidarity Regina issued a media release about the Friday flag-raising ceremony that would have marked the anniversary of the proclamation of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence.
Despite the city’s cancellation notice, the group followed up with another media release on Friday morning to confirm a public event would still happen at city hall at 10 a.m.
“A community flag-raising ceremony will proceed regardless of Mayor Masters’ decision,” stated the second release from Palestine Solidarity Regina.
According to the group, Regina would have been the first major Canadian city to fly the Palestinian flag and the community ceremony still highlights “Regina’s role in standing up for justice and human rights globally.”
Earlier this year on May 14, Regina joined other Canadian cities, such as Toronto and Ottawa in hoisting the Israeli flag in conjunction with Israel Independence Day. Pro-Palestinian supporters were upset by the move, which came six months after the intensification of longstanding conflict in the region.
At the time, a city spokesperson said the flag-raising was in response to a request and in accordance with the flag policy, which notes that flags of organizations that may be considered “controversial, contentious or divisive within the community shall not be flown.”
“The Palestinian Day of Independence is on November 15. We would honour a request to raise the Palestinian flag that day if received,” said the May statement.
Prior to the cancellation announcement Thursday, city clerk Jim Nicol apologized for the controversy created by the city raising the Israeli flag earlier this year and then offering to hoist the Palestinian one.
“The City understands that granting approval to raise the Palestinian flag (and other flags in the past) has been controversial,” Nicol said in an email statement to the Leader-Post, but he maintained it’s in accordance with existing policy.
The city “acknowledges that our current Flag Protocol Procedure needs updating so that it is focused on and supports municipal issues, and doesn’t weigh in to global politics,” he said in his email statement.
“Administration is recommending a number of changes to the Flag Protocol Procedure, including that only the flags of Canada, Saskatchewan, Union Jack, City of Regina, Treaty 4, and Metis Nation may be flown in the courtyard of City Hall and in the Council chamber,” he said.
A report with those recommendations was originally prepared in the spring of 2024.
Outgoing Ward 1 Coun. Cheryl Stadnichuk and recently re-elected Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak brought a motion to city council to look to alter the city’s flag policy to deny any request to fly the flag of a country that has been investigated for violations of international laws. Both councillors said at the time that many upset residents reached out to them.
Nicol said “full council agendas” delayed progress on the reevaluation of the flag policy and then council broke for the election period.
A new mayor and ward representatives were elected Wednesday night. They will be sworn in on Monday.
“We are confident that the proposed changes to the Flag Protocol Procedure, if approved by the Council, would help prevent similar situations in the future,” Nicol said in the statement.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage. Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and injured more than 102,000 in the densely populated enclave of 2.2 million. The war has led to demonstrations and rallies across Canada.
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