Above: The Pride flag being raised above Morinville Town Hall is seen in this file photo. Westlock residents voted 663-639 in favour of prohibiting all but governmental flags from Westlock Town Hall.
by MorinvilleNews.com Staff
The federal, provincial and municipal flags are the only ones that will now fly above Town Hall in Westlock, and crosswalks will be painted the traditional white after residents voted 663-639 in favour of a proposed Crosswalk and Flagpole Bylaw.
With the passing by 24 votes, Westlock is now prohibited from flying “non-governmental flags on municipal flagpoles or painting local crosswalks in a manner other than in a white-laddered pattern,” a late-night media release reads. A Pride crosswalk installed last June will be removed.
Last fall, Westlock Council was presented with a resident-initiated petition on the matter, prompting Westlock Council to either pass the bylaw or refer it to a plebiscite, which would be binding. The plebiscite question put to Westlock voters was: “Do you agree that: Only Federal, Provincial and Municipal flags may be flown on flagpoles on Town of Westlock municipal property, all crosswalks in the Town of Westlock must be the standard white striped pattern between two parallel white lines, and the existing rainbow coloured crosswalk in the Town of Westlock be removed.”
Residents voted 663 in favour of flying only governmental flags and traditional crosswalks. The vote follows several weeks of campaigning by the Yes and No side, including videos on social media and YouTube from not only the Westlock Neutrality group supporting the bylaw but also from Westlock Council supporting the No side.
“Council did not support the proposed Crosswalk and Flagpole Bylaw, as we felt it went against our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion,” said Mayor Jon Kramer in the Feb. 22 media release. “This plebiscite is binding, and as such, the bylaw does restrict how we are able to show this commitment. However, we will continue to find ways to embrace those in our community who need a helping hand, including marginalized groups. Equity is the reason we require wheelchair-accessible parking; it is why we are developing an accessible playground; and yes, it is the reason we show support to marginalized groups like our local 2SLGBTQ+ community. That won’t stop, it will just take on a different form. We know the Town of Westlock is a welcoming community, and that will not change.”
The Westlock Neutrality group contends that the plebiscite was about keeping the municipality neutral in its public spaces.
“Across Canada, from the Prime Minister down to the Mayor of our little town, we have seen the rapid spread of the idea that some Canadians should receive preferential treatment. ‘Equal under the law’ isn’t enough. Some, apparently, must be promoted above others. ,” Westlock Neutrality Lead Stephanie Bakker said in a Feb. 3 YouTube video.
Westlock CAO Simone Wiley said the bylaw will now be implemented following the favourable vote.
When I ran to be the mla, I had a female teacher tell me there were no gay students at the school of 300. And, if there ever were they could feel safe coming forward for HELP.
Shame!!
Westlock, hang your head in shame
I know there are welcoming wonderful people in Westlock who did not support this but chose not to vote! This is what happens when “Take Back Alberta” folks are allowed to infiltrate communities with their hate and bigotry. Thank God your mayor is welcoming! Folks will find alternate ways to show support for the queer folks in your community.
To all you naysayers on this..I would suggest you look at both sides, especially Stephanie Baker’s youtube Feb 3 video at the bottom of this article. it’s common sense to get both sides of the story and take a minute to digest both sides. what is not written is how aggressive the mayor and council got to sway voters away from voting against the ban that was being proposed by the petition and i dare say that their lobbying created the number of votes they achieved. people are getting sick and tired of having special interest groups and the elected governing bodies (that don’t announce their agenda and follow the pied piper prior after their election) trying to prove their inclusiveness. the point herein lies it is about equality not equity and to blame people like Take back Alberta doesn’t have any logic to it nor shaming Westlock citizens for voting their views on this matter. A painted crosswalk or a rainbow flag doesn’t do anything….it comes down to how we treat each other. And please….don’t come back and say gay people get bullied…everyone gets bullied in the world. If the mayor and council are so adamant about painting a cross walk and flying rainbow flags, call an election and run again but this time state your true, in detail, agenda and see how you fair. I would hope that Stephanie Baker would run in opposition to the current mayor. Keep in mind that the mayor and council have announced to the media that they will find ways to show their inclusiveness. Citizens of Westlock, sit back and say to yourself if the current mayor and council have nothing better to do than create division in their town you may want to revisit their views next election.
Fred, I wholeheartedly agree. Ms Bakker’s video made excellent points about neutrality (which the town council is supposed to be – neutral) and not putting any one group above others. It doesn’t help that so many divisive interest groups are pushing so hard that it makes the very things they push less palatable. And blaming and shaming just pushes that division farther.
Pathetic, honestly. Shame on Westlock. Will not be going there or supporting the town financially again. This move will detract from the growth of the region.
There’s no good videos by some woman psycho justifying this. Just old boomers who are homophobic and won’t own it. Yes, Take Back Alberta is coming for your area next.
Jason; it appears that you cannot reply intellectually so you do what bullies do best…hurl insults. Please don’t reply to this as it will only support what I herein write.
Fred, you hit the nail on the head. The woke msm has conveniently ignored the fact that the mayor and the rest of the town council, tried desperately to push their views and sway the town voters. Government’s are elected to serve their constituents, not impose their views on them. This is a victory for democracy. As well, the msm, in reporting the story always quotes only one side of the respondents. Let’s hear the comments of the MAJORITY of the folks who voted for neutrality in Westlock.