A fight over flags is coming to city hall
One councillor wants to fly the pre-revolution flag of Iran, while another would nix foreign flags altogether
City Council is about to debate two very different takes on flag flying at city hall.
Willowdale Councillor Lily Cheng has put forward a motion asking permission to fly the Lion and Sun Flag of pre-revolutionary Iran, which was used by the country’s former constitutional monarchy before the present Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979. The flag has been adopted by many as a symbol of protest against the current Iranian regime, and more recently, by some supporters of Israel and the United States’ war on Iran.
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Cheng’s motion says the city has received requests from residents of the Iranian Canadian community to raise the flag as a symbol of “hope for a future grounded in freedom, human rights and dignity,” and notes it has been used for years as “a symbol of resistance to repression and a vision of Iran that reflects the will of its people.” It would fly to belatedly mark Nowruz, New Year’s Day in the Iranian calendar, which was celebrated on March 21.
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Cheng also wrote that the recognition would not represent “support for any foreign government, political movement or position on international conflicts. The City of Toronto does not take positions on geopolitical matters.”
Don Valley East Councillor Jon Burnside, meanwhile, wants to ban foreign flags from city flagpoles altogether. His motion, titled “One Country, One Flag; Celebrating the Canadian Flag,” would make the Maple Leaf the only national flag allowed.
Burnside’s motion, for its part, did not offer any justification for its more sweeping changes. Speaking to the Toronto Star, Burnside claimed his proposal was unrelated to Cheng’s and reflects an idea he’s had since 2015. “As a municipal government, we shouldn’t be wading into world affairs,” Burnside said. “I’m not sure why people feel the need to raise flags from countries they left.”
Toronto’s current flag-raising policy dates to 1999 and allows the city to raise the flags of countries recognised by the federal government on national days or the anniversary of a special occasion, upon written request. It also allows for the flags of non-profit or charitable organizations.
Burnside’s motion would nix both allowances, but with exceptions for the flags of Indigenous and Treaty partners, the Intersex Pride Flag, the Black Liberation Flag, flags of professional sports organizations, and flags of cities in Toronto’s International Alliance Program. The flags of Toronto and the other provinces and territories of Canada would also be allowed.
City council is set to meet this week in a three-day session running from March 25 to March 27. Both Cheng and Burnside’s motions sit close to the bottom of the agenda, meaning they will likely have to wait until Friday. It’ll be a few days yet before the wind blows one way or another.
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
