West Lincoln, a township in Niagara only an hour away from the U.S. border, voted unanimously in favour of removing all permanently affixed American flags from its buildings on Monday.
The issue was first brought forward on Feb. 18 during a corporate services committee meeting, in which the council voted 4-3 to direct workers to take down American flags that were permanently affixed at the West Lincoln community centre.
During this initial meeting, Counc. William Reilly, responsible for issuing the motion, highlighted that while the American flag was displayed all year long in the town’s community centre, the Ontario flag wasn’t present.
“We have an American flag that seems to be fixed in our community centre and we don’t even have an Ontario provincial flag that’s up even one day a year,” Reilly said during the meeting.
According to him, the idea of having the American flag permanently displayed was never approved by the council, and “became the norm” through the actions of staff.
“The American flag is currently up all year around and not by direction of any previous Councils. Staff just took it upon themselves years ago to do so which then just became the norm we were told,” he wrote on a Facebook post.
On Feb. 24, the council gave the final approval and determined that while they won’t be banning it, the flag should only be displayed in the event that an American team is visiting the town.
Reilly also cited the ongoing tensions between Canada and the U.S. in light of President Trump’s tariff threats on Canadian goods, and said the issue is about respect.
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“I feel disrespected by our American neighbours. It kind of strikes a nerve that here we are in our country, in our facility, proudly displaying their flag,” he said.
Coun. Jason Trombetta, who also supported the motion, mentioned that displaying the flags could raise concerns of vandalism.
“If [the flag] is going to possibly cause a disruption or a safety issue, because we’ve had damage at the community centre, then for the time being, I will support that,” he said during the meeting.
A day after the initial motion had been brought up, Reilly shared the issue on Facebook, asking residents for opinions.
“Concerns on Council were many. Some were concerned about taking it down and only putting it up when an American team is visiting could offend Americans, while others were concerned with the idea that someone may actually make an effort to damage the flag with growing tensions happening with our neighbours to the south creating a risk and liability to the Arena and visitors because of where it’s positioned and located,” he wrote.
Residents’ comments on the post revealed mixed feelings, with some agreeing that there is no good reason to keep the American flag displayed and others defending the idea of keeping a friendly relationship with American neighbours.
“Happily supporting this idea. I’ve always questioned the flag being up. The US wouldn’t be caught dead having a Canadian flag raised 24/7,” wrote a Facebook user.
“I understand there are ‘issues’ between Canada and the US but removing the flag now after it’s been displayed is bowing down to the issues. Be more Canadian. Leave it alone…” wrote another user.
Other users pointed out that the proximity of the city with the American border and the fact that some of the town’s residents are dual citizens might create an uncomfortable situation.
“We do live close to the border, and we have a lot of families in our town with dual citizenship, with children who play hockey in our arena. I would have preferred, at this time especially, to leave the flag up, to show all are welcome,” a different user commented.
