Port Moody council will debate a motion Tuesday, April 9, to create spaces in the city where residents will be able to gather safely to talk about how the ongoing conflict in the Middle East might be affecting them.
The motion, formulated by Mayor Meghan Lahti, replaces a previous motion passed by council Tuesday, March 26, affirming the Canadian government’s call for an end to the war, the release of all hostages as well as facilitating the safe return of Canadian citizens from Gaza.
But two days later, that motion was rescinded by council in an extraordinary session after some councillors had been singled out on social media as Islamaphobes, as well as “colonist and genocide supporters” and members of the Jewish community who’d also addressed council were called zionists.
Lahti said the subsequent remarks, some of them linked to members of groups supporting Palestine which had been part of a delegation to council seeking a motion of support, shouldn’t be tolerated.
“We don’t appreciate people referring to members of our community as zionists and Islamaphobes,” she said, adding instead council should be working to find ways to bridge divisions within Port Moody itself rather than at an international scale.
“We should be making a motion that calls for our residents to join us in calling out all forms of hatred,” Lahti said, adding the motion council had previously approved had been “co-opted by a group that spreads hate.”
A post on the Instagram page for the group, Free Palestine Tri-Cities, expressed disappointment about council’s reversal.
“We are saddened and also disappointed to hear about the harassment and bullying directed towards some councillors,” the post said. “Our group would have welcomed the opportunity to open the dialogue and address the issue directly.”
The group said it will attend Tuesday's meeting.
"We believe this is a gross overreach and overreaction by some members of Port Moody City Council," said Alain Quinto, of Free Palestine Tri-Cities. "This is collective punishment against the movement and all Palestinians for the actions of a few online detractors."
Lahti said her new motion seeks to encourage dialogue at the local level while also calling upon the Canadian government to not only work to end the conflict permanently but also provide support to local communities to address their own pain and suffering being felt by residents because of the war. It’s also more in line with local government’s role to act in the interests of residents within its own community rather than the international stage.
Some councillors agreed the original motion strayed beyond their mandate.
Coun. Kyla Knowles, who had been the subject of some of the online commentary despite her support for the March 26 motion, said, “I hoped this council would keep its nose out of non-jurisdictional matters.”
Coun. Callan Morrison, who said he’d also received hateful and frightening messages after he’d voted against the motion, expressed regret council got involved in the first place.
“We should have stayed in our lane.”
But other councillors contended they needed to to address the issue, especially after several weeks of entreaties from pro-Palestinian supporters to speak out.
“I think we did the right thing in passing this motion,” said Coun. Haven Lurbiecki. “We controlled the conversation and worked together.”
Coun. Amy Lubik said the motion council originally approved was a “good compromise” from the one pitched by the Palestinian supporters during their delegation.
Coun. Samantha Agtarap, who crafted the comprise to affirm the Canadian government’s official position without any language that might be interpreted as incendiary by one side or the other, said council’s motion was “a beacon of peace in Port Moody.”
In fact, immediately after council’s original motion was approved, several members of the audience expressed gratitude for their careful consideration of the issue.
Here is the text of Lahti’s new motion regarding the conflict in the Middle East:
WHEREAS the world needs a vision for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
AND WHEREAS all lives are of equal worth;
AND WHEREAS we recognize that there is tremendous pain and grief in our city being caused by this conflict;
AND WHEREAS we will never tolerate what is going on in the world to be used as a justification for any form of discrimination, calls for violence, or hatred in our city;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of Port Moody:
- work to create safe spaces and opportunities for meaningful dialogue with all residents, so that they can share how this conflict is affecting them; and
- call on the Government of Canada to work towards helping end the Israel-Palestine conflict permanently, and to provide support to local communities to help address the pain and suffering resulting from this conflict.
