Mayor Drew Dilkens says Fly Franco-Ontarian flag all year

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens wants Windsor's Francophone roots permanently recognizedat city hall.

At Thursday's Franco-Ontarian Day ceremony, Dilkens announced his intention to erect a flag honouring the city's French heritage all year.

"My notice of motion I'll be bringing to city council is to permanently erect a pole that will allow the Franco-Ontarian flag to fly all day, every day in the City of Windsor," Dilkens said.

Windsor follows in at least one other southern Ontario community that decided to raise the Franco-Ontarian flag permanently. Sarnia also decided to install a a flag all-year long.

French is the first language for more than 5,000 people living in Windsor, with 1,640 speaking French most often at home, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.

"There are strong French roots in our community, the founding of our community was done by French settlers," Dilkens said. "Let's permanently recognize that in a flag. Instead of doing it once a year, let's do it every single day."

Franco-Ontarianday is Sep. 25.School children from region's French schools attended Thursday's ceremony at city hall.