Paul Peck was born in Croatia, but he knew at an early age that he wanted a different life, a better life, and at just 17 he set off, alone, for Canada.
Peck arrived on the shores of Nova Scotia at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 6, 1951.
The other date Peck remembers vividly is Feb. 15, 1965, the day the maple leaf was adopted as Canada's flag. He's flown one outside his home for a few days before, during and after every single Canada Day since then.
"Because I'm proud of the country I live in," Peck said. "Because you can be here, and you can be anything you want to be if you're willing to work. You can have a really good life."
So in late June, Peck got out his flag and tied it to the inside of his 17th-floor balcony in Newport Village, just like in each of the past six years he and his wife, Dorothy, have been living there.
But this year, somebody wasn't quite as caught up in the national spirit. Peck received a strata bylaw violation notice, a warning notifying him that he had an item on his balcony that was not allowed.
The balcony-related bylaws listed on the notice don't specifically mention flags, but a handwritten note at the bottom reads: "No flags allowed on balcony nor windows. Thank you to remove it."
Peck took it down, but not willingly.
"I was so upset," he said. "I've been here 62 years, gee whiz. I believe in it, in Canada Day. It's awful."
Peck wants the warning revoked, an apology from the strata council and an assurance that it won't happen again next summer.
A representative from the building's property management company said the notice had come from the strata council, which did not respond to a request for an interview.
