Photo: Contributed

One of the oldest Pride groups in the province celebrated a small victory last night. 

The rainbow coloured Pride flag had only ever been flown at Nelson City Hall in the wake of the Orlando massacre at Pulse nightclub 2016.

Kootenay Pride sent a letter to the city, asking that Nelson consider flying the Pride and Trans flag during this year’s Pride Week events, Aug. 27 to Sept. 3. 

At the last council meeting, city staff came forward with a new flag policy that stated that "The City of Nelson will not consider flag raising or lowering for any community group at City Hall and will not engage in any promotions on behalf of any community group."

However, council passed a motion to support the raising of the flag and referred the policy back to staff for amendments.

"Kootenay Pride feels that it is high time, and the city needs to make a statement and show that they not only support the LGBTQ2S community but that they understand that visibility and inclusion matter," the group stated. "Next year, Kootenay Pride will be back in front of a possible new council with a municipal election happening this fall to ask for both flags to be proudly displayed in front of City Hall."