Commentary Elections will always bring about new and unexpected wedge issues during the campaign. I don’t think anybody could have predicted that the status of the Canadian flag on federal buildings would come into play though. The decision to fly a national flag at half-mast is not one to be taken lightly. It is an expression of collective sorrow on the part of a nation. There are well-established federal protocols for when the national flag is to be lowered and for how long. The flag is lowered upon the deaths of senior members of the British royal family, former prime ministers, governor generals, and other people whose passing is considered to be of national significance. The prime minister has the discretionary ability to have the flag lowered for unique tragedies as well. Few Canadians felt that it was inappropriate to lower the national flag in response to the discovery of …