WENTWORTH CREEK, N.S. — A brightly-coloured rainbow flag will soon be hoisted outside the West Hants municipal office building to honour Pride Week.
Coun. Jennifer Daniels requested in June that council consider showing their support for the summertime festival that recognizes and celebrates the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.
On July 10, council voted unanimously to hoist the flag in conjunction with Halifax's celebrations and will do so every year thereafter. The rainbow flag has long been associated with gay pride.
Halifax Pride runs from July 19-29, with the city's flag raising ceremony on July 19 and the parade on July 21.
This year marks the first time a rainbow pride flag will fly at the municipal office at 76 Morison Dr., which is located in the Windsor-West Hants Industrial Park.
Coun. Robbie Zwicker asked if the public works building in Hantsport could also fly a rainbow flag, and council agreed.
The only question about the initiative came from Coun. Randy Hussey who wanted staff to look into getting two additional flag poles erected outside so that they wouldn't need to remove the Canadian flag during Pride week.
“It's not a budgeted expense,” replied Martin Laycock, the chief administrative officer during the meeting.
Abraham Zebian, the warden, noted other areas “just replace the Canadian flag” to celebrate.
Council voted unanimously in favour of the motion to hoist the rainbow flag yearly.
To learn more about what events and workshops are planned for the Halifax Pride festival, visit: www.halifaxpride.com.
