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Lisa Southern said Coun. Brian Montague had a right to express his support for police even if the emblem has become controversial
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Vancouver’s integrity commissioner has ruled that a councillor didn’t breach any rules by wearing a “thin blue line” emblem on his jacket while performing public duties for the city.
A complaint was received last December that Coun. Brian Montague had violated the city’s code-of-conduct bylaw by wearing a pro-police badge, claiming it was “a form of hate speech and discrimination.”
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After the complainant turned down an offer to resolve it informally, integrity commissioner Lisa Southern did a formal review of the complaint and the applicable law and determined no rules were broken.
“The complainant was concerned that the Thin Blue Line emblem was a symbol of hate, division, inequity, and injustice,” said Southern in the report released on Oct. 17. “They said the emblem was closely linked to the ‘Blue Lives Matter’ slogan adopted in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.”
The complainant gave examples of the thin blue line flag being flown at far right rallies, including in Canada, and cited the flag appearing as a counterpoint to a Black Lives Matter rally in Calgary in 2020. The complainant said some see the symbol as racist and controversial, causing many police forces to ban officers from displaying it.
Montague admitted wearing the emblem at a public event in December 2022, but said he “had a very personal connection” to it. He explained he was a member of the Vancouver Police Department and had lost friends and colleagues who were officers and intended the emblem as a memorial to them.
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“He acknowledged that while to him the thin blue line emblem was a sign of support for police, others considered it a sign of division with a negative meaning,” said Southern, and “his intention was never to convey support for intolerance, division, or discriminatory conduct.”
The report noted the thin blue line was originally a way to honour two Canadian officers killed in the line of duty and others who have died, including police who have taken their own lives. But it did say the symbol has been co-opted by others with less honourable intentions and it has grown controversial.
In January, the VPD said the emblem and patch were no longer authorized on police uniforms, acknowledging “conversations around racial justice, police accountability and the relationship between police and community have the same significance as those taking place in the U.S.”
But Southern said the code of conduct rules must be consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which allows for open expression of views even if they are controversial.
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“His wearing of the emblem is expression of (Montague’s) opinion, and although there may be disagreement with his opinion, the wearing of the emblem does not ‘discriminate, harass, or defame any person’ as those terms are legally interpreted,” said Southern.
jruttle@postmedia.com
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