Feds to spend $50,000 for flag’s 50th birthday celebration

The historic scars of the debate over the Canadian flag still haunt the Conservatives, apparently (under Minister Kenney, the historic flags of Canada were often displayed along with the current flag).

And in contrast to the $1.5 million to commemorate the Holodomor, displaying yet again the political clout of the Ukrainian Canadian community:

The federal government has allotted $50,000 for celebrations for the upcoming 50th birthday of the iconic Maple Leaf flag.

As Maple Leaf approaches 50, some wonder: Where’s the party?

That’s compared to almost $4 million for a campaign marking the 200th anniversary of Sir John A. Macdonald’s birth, and $5.2 million spent on the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

Canadian Heritage said Thursday that the $50,000 includes funds for promotional material, a photo exhibit during Ottawa’s upcoming Winterlude festivities and various “outreach products.”

In an email, a spokesman also said the department has provided more than $200,000 to organizations, including provincial lieutenant-governors, for their 50th birthday projects.

By way of contrast, the government announced earlier this week it will spend $1.5 million on a cross-country project to raise awareness about the Holodomor, a state-sponsored famine in Ukraine in 1932-33 in which millions starved while resisting Soviet collectivist policies.

Feds to spend $50,000 for flag’s 50th birthday celebration – Politics – CBC News.