Residents to vote on bylaw that would force Alberta town to remove its Pride crosswalk
Westlock could be 1st town in province to lose rainbow crossing, acting mayor says
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...ylaw-1.7049801
Town council voted unanimously Nov. 27 to hold a municipal plebiscite on a proposed "crosswalk and flagpole" bylaw which would ban crosswalks or flags that support "political, social, or religious movements or commercial entities."
In May, Westlock councillors voted unanimously to paint the town's first rainbow crosswalk on 106th Street, between town hall and the Royal Canadian Legion. The crosswalk was painted June 27.
Stephanie Bakker, who later launched the door-to-door petition for a bylaw, "I just wanted to have my say," Bakker said in an interview Saturday.
Bakker said neutrality, especially within government, is important for everyone to "get along."
She's full of crap. we all know what she's really saying.
Residents who signed the petition aren't against anybody
(lol right)and are just asking the town to remain politically neutral, she said.
But Jamaly, the acting mayor, said he believes the town needs to govern from a place that "represents and promotes" safety and inclusion.
"Our response has continued to be that what is equal isn't always fair," he said.
The rainbow crosswalk is the only piece of town infrastructure that would violate the proposed bylaw, he said. If the bylaw passes, the town would be required to remove it.
"It is a direct response to the rainbow crosswalk," he said. "These two matters are not isolated; they are connected."
Councillors said Bakker's petition targets a minority group.
"In my opinion, this is lipstick on bigotry," Coun. Laura Morie said at the Nov. 27 meeting.