Earlier this year, Estevan city council approved a policy that governs proclamations and flag raisings.
It was one of those documents that might have had some people scratching their heads and wondering why. After all, this city was just fine for decades without having such a document. Why enact one now?
There were some proclamations that might be divisive, or would cause some to think the city is voicing support for an organization that maybe didn't have the support of the community. At first glance, it felt like the answer to a question that nobody asked.
Still, there are actually some advantages to this document.
We saw it earlier this year when council denied the request from a local organization, Concerned Citizens SK, who wanted to have the straight pride flag flown in front of city hall and to have a Mom and Dad Week in July. We're not going to get into the debate here over having Pride Week celebrations (which we've voiced support for in the past) and a countering straight pride week. That's another discussion for another time.
But at least the policy gave council something to fall back on when it denied the request, rather than simply saying "we disagree with you".
And while the straight pride request came shortly after the policy was enacted, it wasn't the catalyst for the form. It was, however, the first test for the document and its contents.
Also of significance in this policy is it requires people to be at city hall to speak to it.
A proclamation should mean something. If the mayor and council proclaim a day, a week or a month, there should be a genuine impact of the organization on the community.
Nobody would complain about having a United Way Week prior to the annual Telethon, or Telemiracle week prior to that wonderful fundraiser put on by the Kinsmen and Kinettes.
Nobody would have complained if the city would have proclaimed July 30 as Brayden Pachal Day in honour of him bringing the Stanley Cup to Estevan. Nor should anyone be upset if the city were to honour coal miners, SaskPower workers or oilpatch employees with a designated week.
But other times an organization would just send a long-winded proclamation to city hall and hope Mayor Roy Ludwig (or a predecessor) would read it out in the open meeting. Nobody from that organization was present. They didn't say anything specific about what they do in the community. And it really didn't register with anyone who was watching.
It was the same proclamation as Weyburn, Yorkton and any other community where this was mailed out.
If it's worthy of a proclamation, or to have a flag flown in front of city hall, then they should be able to have someone present at the meeting.
Council also has to be aware of precedent with a proclamation. If you say yes to one group, then you're going to open the door to other similar groups that can also have someone present for the meeting.
If you say no to one group that can have someone present, then you'll likely have to say no to similar entities.
There are some who would say council should just give a rubber stamp to every request it receives for a proclamation or a flag raising, but that would leave the city open to some requests that might reflect poorly. A proclamation is not an endorsement, but it is promotion. The flag raising might be even more significant, because it is that visible sign in front of city hall.
There will be some proclamations that have happened for many years that might not happen any longer. There might be some who won't be happy.
But at least council has taken the step forward in reducing some of those that just don't have much local significance.
