Former Guelph-Eramosa councillor Teressa Gibson-Smye says a story printed in last week’s Advertiser stating she was
opposed to the addition of new flags at the Rockwood cenotaph was incorrect.
Gibson-Smye requested a retraction, saying that while she was aware of the controversy surrounding the flags, she never spoke out against their installation.
“I had no opinion on it whatsoever,” she said.
However, email correspondence obtained by the Advertiser seems to indicate otherwise.
On Oct. 31 of last year, Gibson-Smye contacted the office of Jason Kenney, Secretary of State for Multicultur-alism and Canadian Identity, regarding the installation of three military flags – the Red Ensign, the Royal Union Flag, and the Canadian Forces Ensign.
“It would appear inappropriate to fly these flags based on flag etiquette information received from Heritage Canada,” Gibson-Smye’s letter stated.
“A group of local war veterans feel the cenotaph, they and their comrades have been desicrated [sic] by this action, something they feel is just political grandstanding with Remembrance Day impending.”
The letter, also sent to Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong, then asked Kenney what his department could do “to rectify this apparent error of judgment by Guelph-Eramosa Township council.”
On Tuesday, Kenney’s Senior Policy Advisor Chris Champion confirmed via email that Gibson-Smye was indeed complaining about the flags at the cenotaph.
“Yes, it was in opposition,” Champion said of her letter. “I guarantee you that she was opposed to the flags.”
But Gibson-Smye insisted she was never opposed.
“I emailed [Kenney] asking for clarification,” she said on Wednesday. “Writing a letter and seeking clarification hardly constitutes opposition.”
Yet she also said in a different phone call that former Mayor Clint Martin “has a point” when he says flying ensigns – which are not even considered flags – is “a desecration of the cenotaph.”
She said flag protocol obtained from Department of Canadian Heritage is quite different from the protocol as explained by Kenney. She also stressed the Heritage Department “actually sets the regulations for flying flags.”
When asked if there exists two separate sets of flag protocol, Champion simply replied, “No.” Information provided by Champion explained that while the Heritage Department is responsible for administering the policy regarding historical flags, the policy itself was developed and adopted by Kenney’s department.
A special advisory committee to the Secretary of State reported to Kenney earlier this year and was in support of flying historical flags – specifically the Red Ensign.
Members of the advisory committee include: Robert D. Watt, Committee Chair, Rideau Herald Emeritus, and Former Chief Herald of Canada; Dr. Claire Boudreau, Chief Herald of Canada; M. René Chartrand, historian; Brad White, Administration Director with The Royal Canadian Legion; and Dr. Jacques Monet, Reverend, Canadian Institute of Jesuit Studies.
The policy they helped developed states: “When historical flags are flown, the National Flag will also be flown. Historical flags will be flown lower than and away from the National Flag.
“The top edge of the historical flags should never be flown higher than the lower edge of the National Flag. The distance separating the two poles will vary depending on the site but must, as with the height, emphasize the primacy of the National Flag.”
Using this criteria, the Rockwood cenotaph seems to be in compliance with the policy.
In reporting to Kenney, the special advisory committee even said it “anticipates that certain historical flags would continue to be displayed with the National Flag” at cenotaphs.
“When properly and appropriately displayed, these flags help to understand, appreciate, and honour Canada’s history,” the policy states.
Gibson-Smye said the response from Kenney to the township – which stated that any opposition to the flags “would seem … to represent an effort to erase our history as Canadians” – was “unsubstantiated.”
She said a senior political figure like Kenney “should know better” than to involve himself in such a “petty” local matter in the first place.
She also questioned Mayor Chris White’s motivation in bringing up the matter out of the blue, almost a year after the fact. The original Advertiser article was actually a direct response to the recent letter sent by Kenney to all Guelph-Eramosa councillors as well as the township’s representatives on county council – and not initiated by White.
Background
Last fall Guelph-Eramosa council decided to purchase and install three historic military flags at the cenotaph.
Some controversy was created when a couple of people objected to the move despite the township receiving permission from three area Legions, the Dominion Command office of the Royal Canadian Legion, the Department of National Defence, and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
As a result of their opposition, Kenney, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, wrote a letter on behalf of the federal government thanking the township for its efforts.
