TORONTO

Torontonians should not have to “face symbols of hatred and intolerance in their own communities,” Councillor Neethan Shan says in a motion to ban the Confederate flag on city property.

“In Scarborough this past summer, a featured car at the Highland Creek Festival had a Confederate flag — a clear symbol of hate — prominently displayed on it,” the motion says. “What was concerning was that the issue was never properly responded to. Not from festival officials when a resident at the festival raised her concerns to them, and not from the City of Toronto that seems to not have a clear set of policies or regulations regarding the use of the Confederate flag.”

The motion, which is before city council this week, would ask the city manager and city solicitor to explore the feasibility of banning the Confederate flag on city property or at any city events.

In his motion, Shan says that a multicultural city like Toronto needs to take leadership to ensure all residents feel an equal sense of belonging.

The flying of the flag and other symbols of confederacy has become a contentious issue in the United States, notably in Charlottesville, Va., where Heather Heyer, a young woman protesting neo-Nazis and white supremacists, was run over and killed, allegedly by a man objecting to the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue.

aartuso@postmedia.com