November 7, 2023: Town of Westlock Verifies Petition for ‘Crosswalk and Flagpole Bylaw’

News Release

For immediate release

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Town of Westlock Verifies Petition for ‘Crosswalk and Flagpole Bylaw’

Westlock, AB – A petition initiated and signed by community members, driving for a ‘crosswalk and flagpole bylaw’ to be created for the Town of Westlock, has been verified, in compliance with provincial legislation.

This petition pertains specifically to two core areas of Town visual resource use. The first stipulates that the Town can only fly the official municipal, provincial, and federal flags. The second bars the Town from painting crosswalks anything other than the traditional design of white laddered stripes. Each petition stipulation applies to all public spaces within the Town.

Following the petition’s submission at the end of September 2023, the Town followed provincial legislation, through the Municipal Government Act, which allows 45 days for the petition to be verified. This process was completed on Monday, October 30, 2023.

“We’ve been in discussion with Alberta Municipal Affairs and are following provincial legislation at every step of this process,” said Town Chief Administrative Officer, Simone Wiley. “We’re drafting a bylaw, now that the petition has been verified, and will move forward in bringing this to Council for next steps.”

Council is aware of the petition’s verification and is preparing to review the resulting bylaw.

“This petition carries a lot of considerations,” said Mayor Ralph Leriger. “It means we would not be able to fly flags of the Canadian military or of our schools, of the poppy for Remembrance Day or flags marking the Christmas season, as well as the Treaty 6, Metis, and pride flags. It means we would not be able to paint our crosswalks in a way intended to beautify the Town, to recognize Town history, or in any other manner not prescribed by this petition. I’m not convinced this petition accurately represents the majority of our community’s desires, so there’s a lot to work through as we move forward.”

The contents of the petition will now be formulated into a formal municipal bylaw, which will be presented to Council for first reading at the November 27, 2023 Council Meeting.

Media contact:
Simone Wiley, Chief Administrative Officer
Town of Westlock
780-350-2100

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