Listen up! Flags up! | Commentary

Two decades ago or so, in my early years as mayor of Huntsville, I still had our business in Toronto. Scott Aitchison, now the Member of Parliament for Parry Sound-Muskoka, was on council with me at the time and he also worked with me in the city. 

As we would often commute together between Toronto and Huntsville, Scott would drive. When we reached the outskirts of town and came to the welcoming sign for Huntsville, Scott would usually declare, “Flags up!”

It was a humorous reminder that many heads of much larger governments drove with small flags on either side of their vehicle when they were in transit. Of course, we had no such flags, but the deeper meaning to both Scott and me was that we were back in Huntsville, a town we loved and were proud to serve and where the flag of Canada flew majestically from the top of the Town Hall. 

Much more recently, in fact in the past two weeks, Canada’s flag was displayed prominently in Tokyo, 24 times to be precise, as our athletes who won medals paraded around with our flag on their shoulders. It was a Canadian record for medals in a non-boycotted Summer Olympic Games, and our athletes, including Penny Oleksiak, Andre De Grasse, Damian Warner, the woman’s soccer team, Kelsey Mitchell, and so many others will go down in history because of it.

Six times our flag went up to the top of the podium pole to honour the athletes who won gold medals. Their love and pride in Canada could be seen through their masks, as they sang our National Anthem with great gusto. Proud moments for Canada.

Compare that with here at home, where so many of our flags across the country remain at half-mast in recognition of the discovery of the many graves of Indigenous children who died decades ago from rampant illness, abuse, and neglect. This was a tragic era in our history, and it was appropriate to acknowledge this through the lowering of our flag.

But as in all things, there comes a time to move on; not to forget, but to move on. Our flags honouring these Indigenous children have in many instances been at half-mast for more than a month. It is time for them to go back up. 

The prime minister has said that flags on federal buildings will remain at half-mast to commemorate the deaths of these Indigenous children indefinitely, which likely means until after the federal election. That in my view is wrong and I am glad to see that in Huntsville flags on municipal properties have been raised again to full mast, although others in our community have not. 

The lowering of a national flag to half-mast is a time- honoured tradition to recognize tragedy, to reflect a collective sense of sorrow, and also to pay tribute to people who have served in high office who have died. Typically, they are lowered for no more than a week and then they fly again at the top of the pole, a signal, depending on the circumstances, that we may be bowed but we are not broken. I cannot remember a period in my lifetime, when our national flag was at half-mast for more than a month. 

Our flag, when required, can represent an expression of sadness and regret by being flown at half-mast. That is completely appropriate. But primarily our flag represents our collective love for Canada and our loyalty to it. It is a badge of honour and respect, and not one of shame. 

As I was well into writing this article, I learned with sadness of the death of former Ontario Premier Bill Davis. Although a provincial premier, he was widely known as a national statesman, standing up for Canada on many occasions and playing a pivotal role in constitutional affairs including its repatriation. 

As a young man, I served on the executive of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party during the latter years of Bill Davis’s premiership. In many ways it is his approach to compassionate conservatism that has influenced and defined my own political philosophy over the years. 

A man of what his former press secretary described as ‘inbred decency’, Bill Davis also had a wonderful sense of humour and mischievousness. On a number of occasions over the years, when I attended an event at which he was speaking, he would point me out and say jokingly, “and there is the former chairman of Muskoka, who wouldn’t get me garbage collection on my island at Honey Harbour”.  A long (although accurate) memory that man had! 

The Toronto Star posted an obituary for Bill Davis today in which they said Davis “…steered Ontario through the transition from a prim, prosperous, Protestant bastion of the mid-20^th century to the emergence of the vibrant, diverse, modern province that exists today.” 

That–and his important contributions to Canada as a whole, added to his many personal qualities–is the essence of the man and prompts this quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, provided to me today by a friend of the former premier:

“This was a man, taken all for all,

We shall not know his like again.”

It is ironic that I should be writing about getting our flag back up when I learned as I was doing so of the death of Bill Davis. Few individuals who have died deserve the lowering of our national flag to half-mast in respect and honour, certainly in Ontario and arguably in the rest of Canada, than does former Ontario Premier Bill Davis. 

And yet, it will be hard to do that because so many of our flags are already at half-mast because of events from long ago. That will make it difficult to honour this man appropriately and with clarity about who is being remembered.  

At the end of the day, however, Bill Davis and most Canadians would want our flag up, flying high, a symbol of a great country not without its flaws and mistakes but also with significant achievements and contributions to our global society. 

We have every reason to be proud of that and proud of the flag that represents Canada.

Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.

Hugh has served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.

In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.

Currently Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.

Don’t miss out on Doppler!

Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!

Click here to support local news