North Battleford will be seeing a new flag flying at City Hall.
Last summer City Council had decided to hang the Treaty 6 flag permanently but had discussed a different place. Initially they had talked about hanging the flag at the entrance to the city, in the river valley. However, the Mayor of North Battleford Ryan Bater says they discussed it again on Monday and decided the most appropriate place would be at City Hall.
“I think most of the community here recognizes that all Canadians are Treaty Canadians. We are all living in the heart of the traditional territory of Treaty 6. This is something I’ve received a lot of positive comments about. When council discussed it, the vote was unanimous. The support was unanimous. This was really a no-brainer for us,” says Mayor Bater.
He adds, “the treaties are about a nation to nation agreement and so a local government which is really a creation of the provincial government which in itself is creation of the federal government, it’s important for us to recognize the relationships we have with the signatories of the treaties, which includes all of the bands around our area that are all within Treaty 6.”
The hope is to have the flag up soon, but first the concrete has to be poured. Mayor Bater adds they will be wanting a ceremony as well and will be inviting the surrounding communities to take part.