Prince Andrew has been stripped of “His Royal Highness” title, his military appointments, and his patronages. Several Canadian organizations had already removed him, and at least one school has been renamed. Yet the Canadian government insists Andrew’s personal flag, created under the Harper administration in 2015 (photo), takes precedence ahead of the Canadian flag.

That means our proud national banner must be surrendered to the flag of a disgraced royal, and the Maple Leaf moved to an inferior position or taken away completely. The same goes for the flags of ALL members of the British royal family, governors general, and lieutenant governors.

It is plain wrong that the flag of Canada must cede its place of honour to anyone’s personal pennant. And it certainly should not be required to make way for the flag of a perfidious prince from England. The British government had its own epiphany two years ago. Thanks to Andrew’s questionable choice of friends, it stopped ordering flags flown for not only his, but all royal birthdays.

Frankly, the Canadian Heraldic Authority, which created Andrew’s flag, should remove it from its registry, altogether. Perhaps GG Mary Simon, who heads the office, might suggest this.

Last year's shameful departure of Julie Payette from Rideau Hall should have been a wake-up call that NO personal flags ought to come before the flag of the nation. Simply put, no one person is greater than the entire country: No prince, no pope, no president, no queen, no king, no governor general, no prime minister.

Our flag rules need to reflect that. And if the Minister of Canadian Heritage cannot find it within himself to fix this, direction needs to come from the prime minister. Every signature to this petition sends them both a message.