Westlock residents vote to ban rainbow crosswalks and pride flags in town
Citizens of Westlock have narrowly voted in favour of a bylaw that bans Pride flags and rainbow crosswalks on municipal property.
The results of a plebiscite Thursday mean the town of 4,800, about 90 kilometres north of Edmonton, will only allow flying government flags and crosswalks painted with standard white stripes, and a rainbow-coloured Pride crosswalk will be removed.
The votes of 1,302 residents were 51 per cent in favour of the changes — a difference of only 24 ballots.
Westlock Mayor Jon Kramer told Postmedia councillors were unanimously against the move and spoke out about the risk it represented.
“This is disappointing, but not discouraging. We know that the future is inclusive, and it really doesn't change our commitment to inclusive practices and policies within our community whatsoever,” he said.
The petition came in response to the local gay-straight alliance's painting of a crosswalk with the colours of the Pride flag last June.
“Westlock is a kind and caring community, but this is just proof that change is incredibly hard for some people, and the work of inclusion is not done. It's an uphill battle,” said Kramer.
The resident-approved bylaw can't be repealed by council, and will be in effect for at least a year before citizens can bring forward a challenge, he said.
“We've already received messages (about potential) Charter challenges or human rights complaints, so this is not the end of the story by any means,” he said, adding that having the bylaw on the books will also prevent the town from raising a Treaty 6 flag as planned.
Benita Pedersen, an opponent of rainbow-coloured crosswalks, told Postmedia she believes the symbol doesn't resonate with the majority of people in Westlock, and called the results of the plebiscite a great success for Canadians.
“This is going to inspire people, not just in Westlock, but across the nation. It's going to inspire people to stand up for what they believe in, even when their elected representatives are attempting to shove things upon a municipality that the people don't agree with,” she said.
Pedersen said the colours don't represent equality, but favouritism.
“It's not appropriate for the symbols of special interest groups to be showcased in such a prominent way. It's a form of bullying,” said Pedersen, who had attempted to introduce a similar petition before the crosswalk was painted last year.
The latest successful effort was spearheaded by resident Stephanie Bakker and the group Westlock Neutrality.
Pedersen said removing the painted crosswalk isn't an act of hatred against those who identify as part of the LGBTQ community, but a “step towards having healthy boundaries,” and highlighted a local event being organized by the group to bring proponents and opponents together.
“We love the people in our community who identify as LGBTQ,” she said, calling for an investigation into the mayor for “attempting to manipulate” the outcome of the plebiscite vote.
A former Take Back Alberta organizer, Pedersen lost a byelection bid early this year to fill a vacant local council seat.