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Bylaw officer sizes up District of Sicamous for coat of arms

Council postpones proposal to get federally recognized heraldry
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Sicamous council postponed a request from bylaw officer John Moore to look into establishing an official coat of arms for the district, saying that a lot of consultation would be required. (Governor General of Canada image)

Sicamous will remain without a coat of arms for the time being.

At the Feb. 14 Committee of the Whole meeting, District of Sicamous bylaw officer John Moore asked that council request a “grant of emblem” from the Canadian Heraldic Society to add credential to district staff.

“Sicamous doesn’t have a federally recognized coat of arms,” Moore said. “We have our corporate logo, which is more geared towards advertising and promotion, whereas a coat of arms is officially recognized in the province and the federal level as being ‘this is a person that is responsible for Sicamous.”

In response to a question from Coun. Ian Baillie regarding who would use the symbol, Moore explained it would be for all municipal branches, including bylaw, public works, the fire department and any other designated organizations of council’s choosing.

“So this is a little larger than just doing it for bylaw enforcement. This would be something that would be an official District of Sicamous coat of arms,” Baillie said. “So, you know, I think we’ve got to think about this. There will be a process, consultation for this… before we choose what is actually a coat of arms for Sicamous.”

Coun. Pam Beech agreed, adding “this is a consultation we would need with our Splatsin partners as well.”

Wanting more discussion and information, council postponed the matter to the Feb. 28 committee meeting, where Couns. Bob Evans and Pam Beech saying that it’s an interesting project but to defer it to next year. Despite that, the motion directing staff to formally request a grant of emblems from the Heraldic Society passed 4-3, with Evans, Beech and Mayor Colleen Anderson opposed.

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