Neighborhood wants flag taken down

LAKESHORE, Ontario, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- An Ontario couple said they will not give in to their neighborhood association's demand to remove a Canadian flag from their garage unless ordered by a judge.

Brian Cassidy, 63, and wife Linda-Lee Cassidy, 61, of the Mill Retirement Community in Lakeshore, said the homeowners' association told them the flag must be removed from its perch in front of their garage because neighbors had complained about the 8-foot flagpole "changing the architecture" of the house's exterior, a violation of neighborhood bylaws, the Windsor Star reported Thursday.

The homeowners' association said the couple will not be allowed to vote at meetings until the flagpole is removed, but Brian Cassidy said he will not be swayed.

"I put that flag up to stay up," he said. "It's not coming down. I take pride in my country and my flag."

Cassidy said he received permission to mount the flag from the neighborhood builder in 2004, a year before the homeowners' association was created.

Keith Chapman, president of the homeowners' association, said the flag would be allowed if the pole was not mounted to the exterior of the home.

"It's never been about a Canadian flag," Chapman said. "It's been about bolting something to your home that hasn't been authorized by the organization. He could fly the flag on his front lawn all he wants to."

Cassidy said he will only consider removing the flag if ordered by a judge.