HALIFAX – The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is ending a partnership with a group providing tickets to veterans following complaints that the group was using a controversial Thin Blue Line image.
Officials with the Tattoo, an annual show of military music and other performers in Halifax, said on Twitter Wednesday they had cut ties with VALOUR Maritime Society, thanking people for bringing the matter to their attention and declining further comment.
VALOUR is a non-profit group that raises money to help veterans and first responders get treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Group president Graham Walsh says the Tattoo received complaints the VALOUR logo includes a Thin Blue Line symbol, which is considered a sign of police solidarity but has also been criticized as a symbol of white supremacy.
But Walsh says the line across the Canadian flag in their logo is teal, not blue, because teal is the international ribbon colour for PTSD awareness.
However, Walsh acknowledges his group uses the hashtag #ThinBlueLine in some of its posts on Facebook – and says that might be something his board of directors needs to discuss.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2022.