The ‘thin blue line’ symbol, which has been used for years by police officers as a sign of solidarity, has come under growing scrutiny by critics calling for major police reform.

In Canada, the "thin blue line" symbol, often worn as a patch, generally looks like a blue line cutting horizontally across a black-and-white version of the Canadian flag.

A commission directive on Wednesday ordered on-duty police officers to replace the thin blue line patch with a symbol that better reflects the values of Calgarians by Friday.

A pair of Toronto police officers wear “Thin Blue Line” patches while crews began dismantling a homeless encampment at Lamport Stadium near King Street West and Dufferin Street on Wednesday.

Ottawa's Mayor has put out a statement after public backlash over photos of the Ottawa Police Service wearing a 'thin blue line' symbol on their hockey jerseys at a charity game on March 10.

In a statement responding to the use and subsequent removal of the symbol, the Wild said, “We understand the black and blue flag symbol means many things to many people. Our only intention was to show ...