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Home My WebLink AboutADM 110-002 Flag Raising Procedure Procedure Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Procedure Number ADM 110-002 Reference Resolution #6/05 Date Originated (m/d/y) January 17, 2005 Date Revised (m/d/y) December 3, 2009 May 6, 2011 January 21, 2014 January 1, 2016 January 18, 2018 March 18, 2020 April 23, 2023 Pages 9 Approval: Chief Administrative Officer Point of Contact Supervisor, Administrative Services Procedure Objective The Corporation of the City of Pickering (the “City”) is committed to ensuring that the protocol by which flags are flown at City Hall and its properties follow the rules applied by the Federal Government, as established by the Department of Canadian Heritage, and City Policies and Procedures. The objective of this Procedure is to convey protocol for: 1. Half-masting of flags; 2. Flag displays/flag raising ceremonies; 3. Flag placement etiquette; and, 4. Flag maintenance. Index 01 Definitions 02 Roles and Responsibilities 03 Protocol 04 Flag Displays/Flag Raising Ceremonies 05 Flag Placement Etiquette Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Page 2 of 9 Procedure Number: ADM 110-002 06 07 01 Flag Maintenance Flag Dimensions Definitions 01.01 After-hours – refers to any time after regular business hours at City Hall. 01.02 City Hall – refers to the Pickering Civic Complex. 01.03 City Properties – City facilities including: Pickering City Hall, Dr. Nelson F. Tomlinson Community Centre, all Fire Halls, and any other facilities or City- owned lands. 01.04 Death – may be taken to include the day of death and up to and including the day of the funeral. 01.05 Courtesy Flagpole – the courtesy flagpole can be identified as the flag at City Hall that normally holds the Provincial Flag. This flagpole is considered our “guest flagpole” and will be used to hold flags of other nations or for awareness campaigns. 01.06 Half-mast – flags are flown at the half-mast position as a sign of respect and condolence or to commemorate significant dates. 01.07 Flag Raising Ceremony – a scheduled event whereby the Mayor, Members of Council, or designate convene at City Hall to raise a flag (in accordance with this Procedure). 01.08 Sovereign – the supreme ruler/monarch of a country. 01.09 CAO – Chief Administrative Officer. 01.10 Cenotaph – to promote Remembrance, The Royal Canadian Legion erects and maintains war memorials and cenotaphs across Canada. The memorials and cenotaphs serve as gathering places for ceremonies on Remembrance Day, and for other Remembrance milestones throughout the year. The cenotaph is located in the Pickering City Hall Courtyard. 02 Roles and Responsibilities 02.01 Chief Administrative Officer to: a)approve this Procedure and any amendments as required; and, b)provide direction, notification, and consistent application of this Procedure. Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Page 3 of 9 Procedure Number: ADM 110-002 02.02 Director, Community Services & Deputy CAO: a) provide direction to Facilities staff during after-hours in the absence of the Supervisor, Facilities Operations in the event of special circumstances not identified in this Procedure. 02.03 Supervisor, Administrative Services to: a) approve requests to use the courtesy flagpole at City Hall. 02.04 Supervisor, Facilities Operations to: a) provide direction to Facilities staff during after-hours in the event of special circumstances not identified in this Procedure; b) coordinate the lowering and raising of flags (during both regular business hours and after-hours) at City properties; and, c) coordinate the maintenance of flags and flagpoles. 02.05 Executive Assistant, Council to: a) coordinate flag raising ceremony if requested; communicate flag display, raising and half-masting to Mayor, Members of Council and staff; b) send details to the Website Coordinator, Division Head, Public Affairs & Corporate Communications and the Supervisor, Public Affairs & Corporate Communications for posting to the website and social media sites (when possible); and, c) ensure flags are delivered by the applicant to the Customer Care Centre for distribution and return. 03 Protocol Flags are symbols that identify people belonging to a group. The Natio nal Flag of Canada and the flags of the provinces and territories are symbols of honour and pride for all Canadians. The Canadian flag (when flown in Canada) always takes precedence over all other national flags. The only flags to which precedence is given over the Canadian flag are the personal standards of members of the Royal Family and of His Majesty’s representatives in Canada. 03.01 Half-masting – flags flown at City properties shall only be flown at half- mast on: Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Page 4 of 9 Procedure Number: ADM 110-002 • the death of a Mayor (current or former); • the death of a Member of Council; • the death of a current City of Pickering employee; • the death of the Chair of the Regional Municipality of Durham; or • on the direction of the majority of Members of Council. In accordance with Federal and Provincial protocol, flags will also be flown at half-mast on: • the death of the sovereign or a member of the royal family related to the sovereign (spouse, son or daughter, father, mother, brother, sister), the Governor General, the Prime Minister, a former Governor General, a former Prime Minister, or a Federal Cabinet Minister; • the death of the Lieutenant Governor, the Premier of Ontario , or another person similarly honoured by the Province of Ontario; or • the death of the local Member of Parliament or local Member of Provincial Parliament. Flags will be flown at half-mast at all Fire Halls in accordance with paramilitary protocols on: • the death of a member of Pickering Fire Services (retired or presently employed); • any emergency services personnel who have fallen in the line of duty; • to commemorate September 11th and recognize fallen firefighters; • the death of Canadian Armed Forces personnel who have fallen in the line of duty; or • on the direction of the Fire Chief in consultation with t he CAO. The City of Pickering follows the Half-masting protocols of the Government of Canada, and as such, flags will also be flown at half-mast, in recognition of the following dates: • April 28th – Day of Mourning for Persons Killed or Injured in the Workplace (Workers’ Mourning Day); • June 23rd – National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism; Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Page 5 of 9 Procedure Number: ADM 110-002 • Second Sunday in September – Firefighters’ National Memorial Day, unless half-masting occurs near the place where a memorial is being observed, then half -masting can occur according to the prescribed order of service, until sunset; • Last Sunday in September – Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day, unless half-masting occurs near the place where a memorial is being observed, then half-masting can occur according to the prescribed order of service, until sunset; • September 30th, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation; • November 11th – Remembrance Day, unless half-masting occurs near the place where remembrance is being observed, then half-masting can occur at 11:00 am or according to the prescribed order of service, until sunset; and, • December 6th – National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. If the flag is half-masted in accordance with this Procedure, it must nonetheless be flown at full-mast on Victoria Day and Canada Day. 03.02 Process for Half-masting – for circumstances not identified in the criteria outlined in 03.01, the Office of the CAO or designate shall notify all departments regarding the half-masting of flags with respect to the location, the reason, and the duration that the flag will be flown at half -mast. Department contacts responsible for facilities and City properties shall lower and raise the flags upon receipt of the appropriate notification. After-hours notification will be the responsibility of the Supervisor, Facilities Operations, who will follow up accordingly, based on the protocol information and reference information. Special circumstances not identified in this Procedure may be referred to the Director, Community Services, or the CAO if necessary. 03.03 City Properties – half-masting of flags must be in effect at all City properties. Facility Operations staff will notify the staff representatives at the applicable facilities to ensure flags are attended to accordingly. 03.04 Notification to Staff/Public – an email notification will be sent to staff. Time and circumstances permitting, information will be posted on the City’s website and social media sites. 04 Flag Displays/Flag Raising Ceremonies 04.01 The courtesy flagpole at City Hall will only be used for the display of flags or flag raising ceremonies. Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Page 6 of 9 Procedure Number: ADM 110-002 a) Requests for flag displays and flag raising ceremonies may be approved up to a period of two weeks for: • non-profit or charitable organizations, for an awareness campaign once within the calendar year; • flags of nations recognized by the Government of Canada on a country’s national day, once within the calendar year; or • a delegation from representatives of a state/country recognized by the Government of Canada visiting the Mayor and Members of Council. b) Requests for flag displays and flag raising ceremonies shall not be approved for: • politically based parties, organizations, or individuals; • religious organizations or the celebration of religious events; • matters of political controversy or ideological beliefs; • promotion of a business or commercial enterprise; • if the intent is to defame the integrity of Pickering Council, or is contrary to City policies or by-laws; • matters designed to incite hatred, discrimination or disorder; • if the event or organization has no direct relationship to the City of Pickering; • groups or flags of nations that have already flown a flag on a courtesy flag pole within the same calendar year. 04.02 Process for Flag Displays/Flag Raising Ceremonies – requests to use the courtesy flagpole at City Hall must be submitted by online application to the Council Office and will be confirmed on a first come, first served basis. a) Application must include the following information: • organization name, address, contact, title, email address, and telephone numbers; • proposed date and time (not to exceed two weeks); • identify whether request is for displaying a flag and/or f lag raising; and, • type of flag to be raised. Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Page 7 of 9 Procedure Number: ADM 110-002 Organizations with approved flag raising requests are required to provide a flag that is 4 ½ ft x 9 ft (1.40 x 2.80 metres) in size with metal grommets. The application is available on the City’s website at pickering.ca 04.03 Veterans Flag Display/Raising – pursuant to Resolution #98/23, the Corporation of the City of Pickering will display the Legion Poppy Campaign flag from the last Friday in October until after the Remembrance Day Ceremony, and will display a Veterans flag immediately following the lowering of the Poppy Campaign at the Cenotaph until sunset on the 30 th day of November each year. 04.04 Notification to Public/Staff – time and circumstances permitting, information will be posted on the City’s website and social media sites. An email will be sent by the Council Office to the Mayor, Council, All Departments and Library email distribution groups, for awareness and to enable staff to respond to any public enquiries. 05 Flag Placement Etiquette 05.01 Position of Honour – due consideration shall be given to flag etiquette and precedence whenever the National Flag of Canada or other sovereign national flag or Provincial/territorial flag is displayed. Alone – when the National Flag of Canada is flown alone, on top of or in front of a building where there are two flagpoles, it should be flown on the flagpole to the left. When the National Flag of Canada is flown alone, on top of, or in front of a building where there are more than two flagpoles, it should be flown as near as possible to the centre. a) With flags of sovereign nations, provinces/territories, international organizations, cities, companies, etc. – when flown with other flags, the National Flag of Canada occupies the position of honour (as near as possible to the centre). b) With another flag – the National Flag of Canada is placed on the left while facing the display. c) With three flags – according to the National Flag of Canada etiquette, when three flags are displayed, the National Flag of Canada is placed in the centre. While facing the display, (i.e., viewing a building from the street), the Provincial flag is positioned on the left, and the City flag is positioned on the right. d) No more than one flag shall be displayed on each flagpole. All flags should be the same size and flown at the same height. Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Page 8 of 9 Procedure Number: ADM 110-002 06 Flag Maintenance 06.01 City Hall flags shall be checked on a weekly basis to ensure that they are in good repair and shall be replaced semi-annually or as required. Dr. Nelson F. Tomlinson Community Centre flags are checked monthly. 06.02 Flags at Fire Halls shall be checked on a daily basis to ensure that they are in good repair and shall be replaced as required. 06.03 Flagpoles are to be maintained, painted, and replaced as required. 06.04 Tattered or worn flags shall be disposed of in the following dignified manner: • return flag(s) to participating retail stores who will dispose of them; • flags made of natural fibres (wool, cotton, linen) should be burned in a dignified manner; privately without ceremony or public attention being drawn to the destruction of the material; or • flags made of synthetic material (nylon or polyester) should be respectfully torn into strips, with each element of the flag reduced to a single colour, so that the remaining pieces do not resemble a flag. The individual pieces should then be placed in a bag for disposal – the shreds of fabric should not be re-used or fashioned into anything. 07 Flag Dimensions 07.01 Flag size and pole length should correspond to the following dimensions: Flag Size Pole Size 3’ x 6’ 0.90m x 1.80m 17’ to 20’ 5.10m to 6m 4 ½’ x 9’ 1.40m x 2.80m 25’ to 30’ 9m to 10.50m 6’ x 12’ 1.80m x 3.60m 40’ to 45’ 9m to 10.50m 7 ½’ x 15’ 2.30m x 4.60m 50’ 15m Flags displayed on City Properties should be 4 ½’ x 9’ where possible. Appendices Appendix 1 Protocol Resource Contacts Procedure Title: Flag Raising Procedure Page 9 of 9 Procedure Number: ADM 110-002 Appendix 1 Protocol Resource Contacts Government of Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage Website: canada.ca/en/services/culture/canadian-identity- society/anthems-symbols/national-flag Email: PCH.info-info.PCH@canada.ca Tel: 1.866.811.0055 Department of Justice Canada, National Flag of Canada Act Website: https://laws- lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2012_12/page- 1.html Email: webadmin@justice.gc.ca Tel: 613.954.0811 Province of Ontario Website: https://www.ontario.ca/document/flag-protocol Tel: 416.325.9739 City of Toronto Protocol Office Website: toronto.ca/city-government/awards- tributes/tributes/flag-raising-half-masting Email: protocol@toronto.ca Tel. 416.392.6745