Hamilton anti-racism educator Amie Archibald-Varley said a Confederate flag flying in her neighbourhood makes her feel disturbed. .Archibald-Varley told Global News she has seen the Confederate flag, which is associated with white supremacy and racism in the USA, multiple times on the front porch of a Hamilton house since January. .Archibald-Varley posted a tweet about the flag on Sunday, which caught people’s attention. .“Less than 5 mins from my house,” she said in a tweet. “Someone else tell me why else this flag is flying here?” .She said her initial tweet about the flag in January received multiple retweets, but some people suggested she might have made it up..“I got a lot of backlash of people saying that, no, I didn’t see it,” she said. “Why would I just put a blanket statement out without any proof?”.Hamilton Police Service corporate communicator Jackie Penman said in a statement emailed to the Western Standard on Thursday that it is aware of the flag. .“Hamilton Police saw the post on social media and have met with the homeowner to ensure they are aware of the community impact,” said Penman. “Unfortunately, there is currently no legislation that would provide police with the grounds to lay charges or compel the homeowner to take down the flag.”.Hamilton banned flags and signs with hate symbols, such as Nazi swastikas and Confederate flags, from city-owned property in 2020. .A legal opinion provided to the city said it was unable to ban Nazi swastikas or Confederate flags on private property except if displaying them violated the Criminal Code of Canada..“There is no inherent ability on the part of the municipality to limit an individual’s (Charter) freedom of expression on private property,” said a city report. .This move was motivated in part by a report from Statistics Canada suggesting Hamilton had the highest rate of police-reported hate crimes in 2018. .The report showed the rate of hate crimes reported to police in Hamilton was 17.1 out of 100,000 people in 2018. This report includes a total of 97 incidents of hate reported to the police that year. .The national rate for hate crimes was 4.9 out of 100,000 people. .Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger responded to the Confederate flag by saying hate symbols are “not welcome” in the city, and he would look at more action to ban them. .“I will move another Motion in Council to request that the federal and provincial governments act swiftly to take action to ban symbols like this, as we should not have this flag and other racist and hateful flags flying in our communities,” said Eisenberger. .Archibald-Varley said she is hoping to do an educational walk in the near future with fellow residents opposed to hate symbols and a few local advocacy groups. .“People who are in support, they can come out with us on this community walk and hope that the individual will take the flag down,” she said. .The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage started hearings on whether to ban hate symbols such as swastikas and Confederate flags in Canada on Wednesday. .Liberal MPs proposed these hearings because of the Freedom Convoy, but deleted a reference to “the swastika and the Confederate flag” after one Conservative MP suggested the ban should include blackface..Bill C-229 would prohibit the display or sale of symbols or emblems deemed hateful with a punishment of up to two years in jail..Jonathan Bradley is a Toronto-based contributor at the Western Standard. jbradley@westernstandard.news
Hamilton anti-racism educator Amie Archibald-Varley said a Confederate flag flying in her neighbourhood makes her feel disturbed. .Archibald-Varley told Global News she has seen the Confederate flag, which is associated with white supremacy and racism in the USA, multiple times on the front porch of a Hamilton house since January. .Archibald-Varley posted a tweet about the flag on Sunday, which caught people’s attention. .“Less than 5 mins from my house,” she said in a tweet. “Someone else tell me why else this flag is flying here?” .She said her initial tweet about the flag in January received multiple retweets, but some people suggested she might have made it up..“I got a lot of backlash of people saying that, no, I didn’t see it,” she said. “Why would I just put a blanket statement out without any proof?”.Hamilton Police Service corporate communicator Jackie Penman said in a statement emailed to the Western Standard on Thursday that it is aware of the flag. .“Hamilton Police saw the post on social media and have met with the homeowner to ensure they are aware of the community impact,” said Penman. “Unfortunately, there is currently no legislation that would provide police with the grounds to lay charges or compel the homeowner to take down the flag.”.Hamilton banned flags and signs with hate symbols, such as Nazi swastikas and Confederate flags, from city-owned property in 2020. .A legal opinion provided to the city said it was unable to ban Nazi swastikas or Confederate flags on private property except if displaying them violated the Criminal Code of Canada..“There is no inherent ability on the part of the municipality to limit an individual’s (Charter) freedom of expression on private property,” said a city report. .This move was motivated in part by a report from Statistics Canada suggesting Hamilton had the highest rate of police-reported hate crimes in 2018. .The report showed the rate of hate crimes reported to police in Hamilton was 17.1 out of 100,000 people in 2018. This report includes a total of 97 incidents of hate reported to the police that year. .The national rate for hate crimes was 4.9 out of 100,000 people. .Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger responded to the Confederate flag by saying hate symbols are “not welcome” in the city, and he would look at more action to ban them. .“I will move another Motion in Council to request that the federal and provincial governments act swiftly to take action to ban symbols like this, as we should not have this flag and other racist and hateful flags flying in our communities,” said Eisenberger. .Archibald-Varley said she is hoping to do an educational walk in the near future with fellow residents opposed to hate symbols and a few local advocacy groups. .“People who are in support, they can come out with us on this community walk and hope that the individual will take the flag down,” she said. .The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage started hearings on whether to ban hate symbols such as swastikas and Confederate flags in Canada on Wednesday. .Liberal MPs proposed these hearings because of the Freedom Convoy, but deleted a reference to “the swastika and the Confederate flag” after one Conservative MP suggested the ban should include blackface..Bill C-229 would prohibit the display or sale of symbols or emblems deemed hateful with a punishment of up to two years in jail..Jonathan Bradley is a Toronto-based contributor at the Western Standard. jbradley@westernstandard.news
