The Canadian flag is an important symbol of countrywide pride and more needs to be done to raise awareness of its history, said a member of an organization dedicated to bringing attention to National Flag of Canada Day.
North York resident John Davies joined the Flag Flyers last year after a small group of concerned citizens held a meeting to discuss educating the public on the often unsung day. "I knew of Flag Day but I didn't know when it was," Davies said. "Americans have a lot of pride in their flag but in Canada it's not the same pride as our neighbours to the south. It comes right after Valentine's Day and this year it's on Family Day so Flag Day sort of gets lost."According to the Department of Canadian Heritage, Feb. 15 was declared National Flag of Canada Day in 1996. It marks the day in 1965 when the red and white maple leaf flag was first raised over Parliament Hill in Ottawa and hundreds of communities across Canada. Red and white were designated as Canada's official colours in 1921 by King George V. This coming National Flag of Canada Day marks the 45th anniversary of the first time the Canadian flag was flown."With the 2010 Olympics coming up we thought we'd use the Olympics to try to raise awareness," Davies said. "We have 750 hand held flags we plan to distribute to people on the street and we've been handing out flags along the Torch route. We want to create a greater awareness of the Canadian flag in schools so people will grow up with its history. The Canadian flag is an important national symbol."Flag Flyers has about a dozen members across the Greater Toronto Area and hopes to create affiliations across the country, Davies said.Interested parties can visit www.flagflyers.ca