A new rainbow crosswalk will be installed in Leamington but approval did not come without debate.
The crosswalk was approved at Tuesday's council meeting but concern was raised by some members of council when it came to the $25,000 price tag of the rainbow paint and that council would have to approve other applications for other themed crosswalks.
Councillor Paul Tiessen spoke out against the proposal noting that there are groups that come to the town with requests to fly a flag but are denied, and he argued this is no different.
As part of the discussions during budget deliberations, engineering services was asked to include the installation of a rainbow crossing as an expression of the Municipality’s solidarity with the LGBTQ2S community. A report from administration says this installation aligns with the the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan in which Council identified key values of the Municipality being welcoming and "inclusive in everything we do".
The crosswalk will be located on Erie Street South near the entrance to the Ferry Terminal Parking lot.
Councillor Paul Tiessen asked if this goes against councils proclamation policy, and wanted a report done and sent back to council.
"There are many other groups out there that have come to us to fly flags at town hall and different areas and we have turned them down. And to me this is really no different other than this will be 12 months of the year versus flying the flag for one day for their organizations," Tiessen said.
Mayor Hilda MacDonald rebutted Councillor Tiessen, "All of these things would make some sense if there was some data to support it. That oh all of a sudden you have to put a confederate flag crosswalk. That stuff's not happening."
Councillor Anthony Abraham said he was on the fence and the money part bothered him.
"Realistically tax payer money should not be for anything to promote of any sort. It's designed to be functional," says Abraham. "At the very most. Aesthetics come with surpluses and things. Not with tax payer dollars."
MacDonald said she feels they need to lead by example and she's willing to stand up and lead.
"Here we are taking a courgeous move and I feel like we're hiding behind the dollar stuff," MacDonald said.
Councillor Heather Latam says council has power and this affects people who don't.
"$25,000 or $0. We are suppose to be a community that is forward thinking and everybody is arguing about $25,000 because it's a rainbow," Latam said.
Councillor Tiessen says he knows it's councils strategic plan to promote inclusivity, but thinks inclusivity is also done in different ways, "Painting the flags on crosswalks, does it have an affect on a community? What is that affect? Is that what makes it inclusive or is it how we treat each other."
The motion was passed after Mayor MacDonald noted she felt they were going around in circles on the issue.