TORONTO, July 7, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared at the Toronto Gay Pride Parade waving a Canadian flag with the vertical red bars replaced by the rainbow stripes of the LGBTQ movement.
“It’s disturbing to see the flag put to such a use,” Rod Taylor, head of the Christian Heritage Party, told LifeSiteNews. “He is showing disrespect for all the Canadians who disagree with him on the gay agenda. He is basically saying, ‘This is the new Canada, so get used to it.’”
The Canadian government’s webpage devoted to the Maple Leaf flag that has been used since 1965 states, “The National Flag of Canada as well as the flags of the provinces and territories are symbols of honour and pride for all Canadians. They should be treated with respect.”
“The National Flag of Canada … should not be subjected to dishonour or displayed in a position inferior to any other flag. … Nothing should be pinned to or sewn on the National Flag of Canada; and the National Flag of Canada should not be signed or marked in any way.”
Watch footage from Toronto's Pride Parade (CAUTION: Graphic sexual imagery):
But there are no laws about how the flag can be treated, according to the same website.
“Technically, they may not have sewn the rainbow strips to it. But they certainly distorted the Canadian flag and distorted its dignity,” Taylor said. He added that it was inappropriate for the prime minister, who has a symbolic role as national leader, to attach himself, the flag and the country to such a cause.
Another site, Findlaw.ca, goes further, stating “the Canadian flag may be a symbol of pride, unity, honour, and sacrifice, but it’s not against the law to disrespect, deface, and destroy it.” In fact, “there are no laws against desecration, such as burning, shredding, stomping, or spitting on it. However objectionable, such acts are protected forms of expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
Indeed, Quebec separatists dishonored Canada’s maple leaf flag on “many occasions,” the site reports, and members of a ultra-conservative American church burned one Canadian flag outside the Supreme Court of Canada in 1999 when it pondered approving same-sex marriage.
Taylor said the CHP and many Canadians do not agree with the gay agenda and “do not believe it is good for people to be in the gay lifestyle.”