Port Moody is supporting the Canadian government’s call for a ceasefire in the current Middle East conflict.
Tuesday, March 26, council directed Mayor Meghan Lahti to write a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mélanie Joly, the minister of foreign affairs, calling for several concurrent actions including:
- securing the release of all hostages
- an immediate ceasefire in Gaza while working towards a permanent political solution to the conflict
- unrestricted access to foreign aid
- support for Canada’s moratorium on new arms exports
- facilitating the safe return of Canadian citizens from Gaza
As well, the city will call for federal support of local initiatives to help bring community members together to heal and bridge their differences.
One of those efforts could include anti-racism forums organized and hosted by local organizations such as the Tri-Cities Local Immigration Partnership, suggested Coun. Amy Lubik, whose motion tasking staff to begin that process was also endorsed by her colleagues.
Council’s stance was a step back from a motion suggested by a delegation of community members that requested Port Moody call for a permanent ceasefire and support unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, as well as stop all arms shipments, sales and trade to Israel and secure the release of all hostages.
The delegation’s presentation was preceded by an extended period of public input from people sharing their own personal connections to the conflict and their concerns about the divisions it's creating around the world.
But several councillors expressed reservations that wading too stridently into global affairs could create further animosity locally.
“This is a very sensitive and polarizing issue, but we must acknowledge it,” said Coun. Samantha Agtarap, who put forth the motion that echoes Canada’s official position supporting peace.
Coun. Diana Dilworth agreed.
“We’re not elected to advise on foreign policy,” she said. “Finding and facilitating a common line for peace, that is something I can support.”
Coun. Callan Morrison said it’s paramount Port Moody’s position represent everyone in the community.
“We can all agree that war is bad and we want this conflict to end.”
Mayor Meghan Lahti said the city must be careful with the.words it chooses to express in such matters.
“Our goal here is to bring the community together,” she said. “We have a responsibility as a council to look at the impact of our words on the residents we serve.”
Afterwards, several members of the gallery wearing the keffiyeh, a scarf symbolizing Palestinian nationalism, thanked council members for their careful consideration of the issue and expressed hope everyone in the community could come together in the interests of a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Gaza that erupted in October 2023 following a raid into neighbouring Israel by Hamas militant groups.
The incursion killed hundreds of Israeli civilians and resulted in the capture of hostages. Since then thousands of people in Gaza have been killed and more than two million residents displaced in retaliatory strikes by Israel's military.
Earlier this month a group of Palestinian supporters criticized councillors in Coquitlam after they failed to endorse a delegation’s request they advocate for a ceasefire in the Middle East. Mayor Richard Stewart said the issue was out of council’s jurisdiction.
Last November, Burnaby council agreed to send a letter to the prime minister calling for a ceasefire, the release of hostages and a flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. It was the first city in Canada to pass such a motion and has since been followed by councils in cities like Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Toronto.
— with files from Janis Cleugh, Tri-City News and Lauren Vanderdeen, Burnaby Now
