A CBC reportersa国际传媒檚 quest to rank B.C.sa国际传媒檚 municipal flags sparked a West Coast controversy this week as the artist behind the image on Tofinosa国际传媒檚 flag claimed hesa国际传媒檇 never given Tofino permission to use it.
Alright, let's do this.
sa国际传媒� Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy)
In this thread, I'm going to rank every single municipal flag in British Columbia.
Justin McElroy ranked Tofinosa国际传媒檚 flag at 38 out of the 130 flags on his list, explaining that the flag sa国际传媒渟creams Tofino,sa国际传媒� and has a sa国际传媒渧ery nice postcard design,sa国际传媒� but lost marks for having sa国际传媒楾ofino B.C.sa国际传媒� printed on it as well as the artistsa国际传媒檚 signature.
A potentially larger problem than that signaturesa国际传媒檚 impact on the flagsa国际传媒檚 ranking arose when the artist it belongs to, Roy Henry Vickers, saw the flag and claimed he had never given Tofino permission to use his design.
BIG MUNICIPAL FLAG NEWS: it seems the artist whose signature is on the Tofino flag says he never designed the flag or gave them permission to use it.
sa国际传媒� Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy)
Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne was quick to respond, Tweeting that the district was looking into the allegation.
Wesa国际传媒檙e looking in to this right now... please stand by! The District of Tofino will absolutely want to take the right and respectful steps.
sa国际传媒� Josie Osborne (@Josie_Osborne)
She later followed up, suggesting Tofino had discovered documentation that shows the district received permission to use the image and that sa国际传媒渙ur records indicate the artist was paid.sa国际传媒�
We've unearthed 1992 & 2002 correspondence between the and the artist, Roy Henry Vickers, about use of the image. I'm following up directly with him to discuss, take any other necessary & respectful steps, & ensure all is in proper order. Good learning today!
sa国际传媒� Josie Osborne (@Josie_Osborne)
The two sides had seemingly reached a resolution Thursday afternoon as Vickers, who owns a gallery in Tofino, Tweeted he was reviewing a contract with the district.
We are reviewing the contract. Itsa国际传媒檚 all good
sa国际传媒� Roy Henry Vickers (@RHVickers)
The flag does not seem to appear anywhere on the District of Tofinosa国际传媒檚 website and is not believed to be flying anywhere in town. McElroy found the design on the .
Osborne told the Westerly News late Thursday afternoon that she had not spoken directly with Vickers, but had reached out to him, and that she believes the issue has been resolved.
She said the districtsa国际传媒檚 documents show that Tofino reached an agreement with Vickers to design Tofinosa国际传媒檚 municipal logo in 1992 and that the two parties reached another agreement to adapt the logo into a flag in 2002.
sa国际传媒淚 was surprised to see Roy Henry Vickers Tweet, but I was quite confident that we would be able to find the backup documentation and just wanted to make sure we could take care of everything and clear up any misunderstandings,sa国际传媒� she said.
She added she is a fan of McElroysa国际传媒檚 and had been following his flag rankings before the local controversy unfolded.
sa国际传媒淗esa国际传媒檚 funny and irreverent and I enjoy following his writing, his Tweets and social media,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淪o, when he came out with the municipal flag series, I knew it was going to be a good one. I think itsa国际传媒檚 all tongue in cheek and in good humour, poking a little bit at some of the funny and odd looking flags that towns have.sa国际传媒�
Osborne, who first joined Tofinosa国际传媒檚 council in 2013, said she was living in Tofino when the flag was unveiled in 2002, but could not recall ever seeing it in use.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 not sure what the use of the municipal flag really could be. It isnsa国际传媒檛 something thatsa国际传媒檚 come up ever in any conversation Isa国际传媒檝e had with anyone. In fact, the only time Isa国际传媒檝e ever seen municipal flags really at play is at the annual UBCM Convention where theresa国际传媒檚 a display of every single flag. But, I donsa国际传媒檛 think they have Tofinosa国际传媒檚 because wesa国际传媒檝e never given them one,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 not sure that it really qualifies as a flag. Theresa国际传媒檚 probably rules that it breaks, but it is beautiful.sa国际传媒�
She added she often hears positive feedback about the logo Vickers designed for Tofino in 1992.
sa国际传媒淲hen I pass out my business card, I invariably get the comment, sa国际传媒榃hat a beautiful logo.sa国际传媒� That is my segue to tell people about Roy Henry Vickers and the Eagle Aerie Gallerysa国际传媒攚hich most people have heard of or even visited,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 think wesa国际传媒檙e fortunate to have Roysa国际传媒檚 iconic art as part of our municipal image.sa国际传媒�
The Westerly News has reached out to Vickers for comment and will update this story when new information comes in.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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