Kelowna courtesy-flag spat shows symbolism still embodied by pieces of cloth

In a world inundated with brand images, old-school flags are still serious symbols.

People treat their country's flags as sacred objects, willing to die for them and sometimes demanding laws to protect them from desecration.

That symbolism extends below the national level: Witness the strange spat over the flying of so-called "courtesy flags" above city hall in Kelowna, B.C.

The normally laid-back resort city on Okanagan Lake has been dealing with controversy over city council's decision to scrap the courtesy-flag program.

[ More Daily Brew: Canadians don't want Khadr back: poll ]

The spark was a request by the Kelowna Right to Life Society's bid to fly a pro-life flag during Protect Human Life Week, which city spokesman Tom Wilson said triggered hundreds of complaints.

"Eighty-to-ninety per cent [of people] urged us not to fly the flag and a small amount of people were in support of it," Wilson told CTV News.

The society, which opposes abortion, euthanasia and stem-cell research, had announced prematurely that the city had agreed to fly the flag.

The city confirmed it was considering the request but had rejected it because the flag displayed the phrase "Celebrating life from conception until natural death."

[ More Daily Brew: Former Argo cheerleader's medical bills mount in Croatia ]

The society came back with an alternate version that said simply "Pro-Life" beside an image of a child, adult and elderly person.

But by then the kerfuffle had prompted Coun. Luke Stack to propose scrapping the year-old courtesy flag program altogether.

"This had been bothering me for some time," said Stack told the National Post.

The motion got unanimous approval.

"The whole exercise seems somewhat inappropriate for city hall," Stack said. "It just seems to excite some members of the city but it also angers others. City Hall should be a place where we're unifying people, not trying to establish camps on different political spectrums."

The Right to Life Society immediately cried foul, noting the rainbow flag of the gay-rights movement was run up the flagpole recently during Pride Week.

"I had hoped they would have treated us the way they treated other groups, and allowed our flag to fly before they abolished the project," said executive director Marlon Bartram to the Post.

The group's initial flag proposal was rejected because it violated the courtesy-flag policy that flags could not promote points of view or organizations of a political, ethical or religious nature."

What about the rainbow flag, then, asked Bartram.

"The Pride Flag conveys a message. It's possible to do so without wording," he said. "There's a lot of people in the country who support the idea that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. So I wouldn't say that these festivities … are something shared by everybody."

Bartram believed his group's alternate flag would have met the city's guidelines, but council rendered the resubmission moot by killing the program.

A new policy will be developed to allow courtesy flags to be flown only in special circumstances, such as when a diplomat or head of state visits Kelowna.

That still may be a little dicey if, for instance, the governor of Mississippi pays a visit. The state flag incorporates the Stars and Bars flag of the Confederate States of America, which many Americans see as a symbol of the slavery that led to the U.S. Civil War.

Or how about a visit from the premier of Quebec, whoever it may be after next month's election? Will some people see hoisting the fleurdelisé as a tacit endorsement of the sovereigntists, who consider it a national flag?

As I say, flags remain potent symbols.