FORT FRANCES — A flag, many colours on white, was raised at municipal offices across the region on Wednesday.
Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas said it’s not just another flag raising.
The flag was for World Autism Day.
“We, like all municipalities, do a fair number of flag raisings, but this is an important one,” Hallikas told Newswatch.
“Statistically, about one out of every 50 children and youth are affected by autism. So in the province of Ontario that’s over 135,000 individuals.
“We think it’s an important event to support.”
At Kenora’s city hall in the morning, a small group including members of the municipality’s accessibility advisory committee showed up in cold weather for a flag-raising led by Mayor Andrew Poirier.
In Dryden, Deputy Mayor Bill Latham and other city officials raised the flag.
The day also included a flag-raising ceremony at Thunder Bay city hall and events at schools.
The United Nations General Assembly designated April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day in 2007.
Autism Ontario, a charity with more than 50 years of history, is observing the day with a theme of “celebrate the spectrum.”
The charity describes its Celebrate the Spectrum initiative as “an opportunity for positive action to provide spaces of support and advocacy for our diverse communities while learning about autism and how we can all make our communities better and more inclusive places for autistic people.”
A draft proclamation Autism Ontario distributed to municipalities says autism “not only influences the lives of autistics but also their friends, families and communities. It’s crucial for us to raise awareness and acceptance, provide support and promote a more inclusive society.”
The proclamation says the municipality resolves “to embrace awareness and acceptance today and every day throughout the year.”
