Niagara Regional council votes unanimously against idea to pull anthem from agenda
Some disbelief at Niagara regional council at the idea of pulling the singing of 'O'Canada' from the start of every meeting.
Council unanimously voted against the idea from the by-law committee, although it was last sung before COVID.
Councillor Bob Gale didn't hold back, as he started the discussion. "With all the things we do, we're pulling 'O'Canada'? I don't think anyone's offended by 'O'Canada' in this place. I'm going to keep my conversations short on this, I just find this disgusting that we would even think of pulling 'O'Canada'.... for one minute, or however long it takes to sing that."
Councillor Bill Steele said Port Colborne council uses a video of 'O'Canada' before meetings, and it's sung before hockey games, right before the puck is dropped.
Councillor Diana Huson had regional staff clarify it has not been sung since COVID, due to difficulty of councillors singing via zoom.
"It is in no way a reflection on how patriotic we feel, or how much we love our country. I think most of us are indifferent with whether or not we sing 'O'Canada'."
A number of councillors made jokes about how to handle bad singers.
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