Great Canadian Flag Debate the new flag adopted in 1980 are meant as a tribute to the Union Flag. British Columbia's flag, which features the Union Flag in its top portion, was introduced in 1960 and is actually based on the shield of the provincial coat of arms, which dates back to 1906. Hence, both Newfoundland's use of the Union Flag and the adoption of BC's flag are unrelated to (and, in fact, pre-date) the great flag debate. Since 1996, February 15 has been commemorated as National Flag of Canada Day in Canada. Great Canadian Flag Debate The Great Canadian Flag Debate (or Great
Australian flag debate to: "Initiate and Support moves to establish with popular acceptance an Australian flag ... which will more distinctively reflect our national independence and identity." It was reported in "The Australian" newspaper on 28 January 1984 that, "It is understood that Federal Cabinet will soon decide how best to ignite the debate on the pros and cons of changing the flag before the issue is put to a national vote before the 1988 bicentenary year. The Minister for Housing and Construction Mr Chris Hurford publicly revealed yesterday that the Government had not allowed economic discussions to completely swamp cabinet debate on