Ottawa police will show their support of Canadian troops in Afghanistan by outfitting their cruisers with special decals.
By the end of next week, 180 cruisers in the nation's capital will sport the "Support our troops" decals. The decision has stirred debate across the country as people ask themselves whether the labels show a support of soldiers or a support for war.
Ottawa Police Chief Vernon White told 麻豆影视 the move is to show support for Canadian troops and "nothing more than that."
"One example I gave was not everybody agrees with every decision that the police service makes but yet we still say we support out police and to me that's what this is," he said.
Last year, Ottawa police wore lapel pins to show their support.
The decision to show support for the Canadian Armed Forces with the decals has not been without controversy in other parts of the country.
While in Vancouver police allow the decals on their patrol cars, in Calgary, police have been prohibited from displaying the decals by the city. In Toronto, the municipal government overturned an earlier ruling which prohibited the decals in June. However, now it's the Police Services Board and the police chief who are not too keen on having the labels on the cruisers.
"It's a wonderful thing that the Canadian people make a personal decision to them one on their car, I have one on my personal car. But I don't think it's appropriate to put any ribbons on my police vehicle," Blair told 麻豆影视.
The concern is police cars could become billboards for other worthy causes.
The union has said officers want their cars marked with the special emblem but so far, no agreement on the issue has been made.
A police spokesperson has said while the force supports the troops in other ways, it won't be showing its support on the cruisers.
For some civic politicians opposed to the yellow ribbon idea, the decal is about much more than supporting Canadian soldiers and troops. They call it an American symbol that has been used south of the border to support an unpopular war in Iraq.
"It's not a politically neutral statement," said Toronto City Councillor Adam Vaughan. "It's a politically charged statement. If you want to make a neutral statement which is completely respectful to the work that our troops are doing overseas and that our veterans have done in the past, it's the red poppy."
With a report from CTV's Graham Richardson in Ottawa
