Today: Baffling flag rule for Commonwealth Day

Today is Commonwealth Day (the 2nd Monday in March), celebrating the Commonwealth of Nations. While membership in the group might be debated, what's undeniably odd is how our federal government marks the day. Federal properties are told to fly the British Union Jack, nationwide. Huh?! The Commonwealth has had a distinctive flag since 1976, one specifically designed to avoid reference to any member state, particularly Britain. The flag itself has Canadian origins. Its stylized "C" was first used at the 1973 Heads of Government meeting in Ottawa on car pennants. The world body adopted the emblem as its flag soon after. Yet Canada clings to the British flag as a symbol of its own sovereign membership in the global group. This baffling policy is one of a handful of flag protocols which this petition seeks to change. If Commonwealth Day is to be observed, it should be done using the flag of the organization itself, not the banner of a single foreign member. No legislation is required to do this. The Department of Canadian Heritage can simply rewrite the rule. That said, it's appropriate to amend the 1964 Flag Act--the one that gave us our Maple Leaf flag 50 years ago--because of a line inserted to placate those who didn't want our country to gain a distinctive new flag. That line says that the British flag will be Canada's "symbol of membership in the Commonwealth and allegiance to the crown." It was written as a gesture to folks who, a half century ago, didn't want to part with the Union Jack as an element of Canada's flag. But that was a dozen years before the Commonwealth adopted its flag. We can now confidently strike that line. Do we mark the Olympic Games by flying a Swiss flag? No! Do we salute the United Nations by hoisting the flag of New York City? No! It's time we marked Commonwealth day by raising the group's banner, and none other. Share this petition among friends and media, to bring greater rationality to our flag rules. Still chief among our desires is to ensure the Canadian flag always takes top spot in its own country. Thanks for continuing to grow the awareness, and for joining this patriotic effort!