Snuneymuxw councillor wants SFN flag removed from Nanaimo City Hall
NANAIMO — A Snuneymuxw councillor wants to see his nation’s flag removed from Nanaimo City Hall.
Doug White said he will bring forward a resolution calling on the City to take down and return the flag. The decision was sparked by what White called mayor Bill McKay’s denial of the alleged assault of chief administrative officer Tracy Samra and Nanaimo council’s failure to address the situation.
“He’s (McKay) effectively saying this did not happen and seeking to erase this violence against an Aboriginal woman as if it never happened. To me, that is profoundly troubling and gravely concerning and absolutely unacceptable,” White told NanaimoNewsNOW. “While the mayor of Nanaimo is in a position of denying this kind of reality, I can not be in a position where we can have the Snuneymuxw flag flying over City Hall.”
The First Nation’s flag was raised at Nanaimo City Hall in June 2015 by McKay and Chief John Wesley, a move described at the time as a sign of unity between the two councils.