Giorgio Mammoliti faced derision and jokes from Toronto Council colleagues because of it, but a plan to fly the world's largest flag in North York is closer to reality.
The monument Mammoliti champions for the Emery Village industrial lands got guarded council support Thursday, but still has to be voted on by a local business improvement area once a deal is made for land.
And one business owner said opponents of the project will go to court rather than pay for a five-acre parcel, 125-metre flagpole and public square estimated together to cost up to $10 million.
"We are all going to chip in and fight it out," said John Provenzano, who sent a petition to council asking for no decision until a "proper vote" involving most Emery Village BIA members is held.
Paying for the flagpole - which Mammoliti calls the world's tallest - will be the responsibility of the BIA, which with 2,700 members is Canada's largest.
But with property taxes already high, the "ridiculous" project will kill local businesses whose owners can't afford to pay higher BIA levies, Provenzano argued in an interview.
"Most of the people are in the same shoes as I am," he added. "If that's the way it's going to be, we don't want to be part of Emery Village."
The petition raised doubts among some councillors, who wanted to first see the BIA's business case for the monument, which could be ready near Hwy. 400 and Finch Avenue by Canada Day.
Scarborough Councillor Michael Thompson called the potential roadside attraction "grandeur that we can't afford," while Norm Kelly, also from Scarborough, said it was garish and "one of the goofiest ideas that I've ever seen."
Even Howard Moscoe, a fellow North Yorker who complimented Mammoliti for giving surrounding neighbourhoods "a shot in the arm" with the flagpole proposal had a motion passed stating the BIA should seek sponsorship from pharmaceutical companies such as the makers of Viagra.
Mammoliti said the flag and public square is "history in the making" and would give "a poor part of the city" its own identity.
"It's not a secret that there's a few businesses that oppose it," he said Wednesday, but added talking to BIA executives changes some minds. "When they know they're going to be the most patriotic community in the country, they buy into it."
Council this week authorized negotiations with the owner of land at Finch and Arrow Road, understanding BIA members would vote on a tentative purchase before it returns to council for approval in January.
The land is expected to put the project in the range of $8-10 million, including the estimated square and flagpole cost of $3.5 million. The BIA would promise the city, which must own the land, to pay off all costs, perhaps over 10 years.
The BIA executive, however, also envision a second phase that includes a Canadian Pavilion, information centre and forms of art and recreation for the property.