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'Double standard': 2 dozen delegates address Whitehorse councillor’s rejected Gaza ceasefire motion

Speakers sought reconsideration of motion that was previously ruled out of order
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Whitehorse City Hall is seen on June 4, 2024.

About two dozen delegates spoke at the latest Whitehorse council meeting to address a motion for council to support a ceasefire in the war in Gaza that has raged for seven months. 

That motion, tabled by Coun. Michelle Friesen, was promptly pushed off council’s agenda with little discussion on a point of order by another councillor. The delegates, many of them seeking a reconsideration of the motion and city actions towards solidarity with Palestine, addressed not only the mayor and six councillors but a packed public gallery.  

At the close of council’s May 21 meeting, Friesen introduced a motion calling on city leadership to write to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's foreign affairs minister expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the targeting of civilians in Gaza and Israel. 

The next week, the Whitehorse councillor's request for a ceasefire letter was ruled out of order by Mayor Laura Cabott following a point of order raised by Coun. Kirk Cameron. Cameron argued the motion was out of scope and that it might violate the council code of conduct provisions dealing with divisiveness. City staff went back to consider the validity of the point of order, leaving it up to the mayor to rule on it or call a vote on it. 

Friesen appealed the decision which put it to a vote of council. This failed with Friesen and Coun. Mellisa Murray voting for appeal and the other five councillors voting against. 

At the June 3 council meeting, some delegates called out what they considered the hypocrisy of the City of Whitehorse raising the Ukrainian flag and supporting a motion to pair with Chortkiv, Ukraine, as a sister city while shutting down Friesen’s motion on Palestine.

More than one delegate proposed the city begin becoming a sister city to Rafah, the southern Gaza city that has been bombed heavily in recent days.

Among the speakers at the meeting was Yukon NDP Leader Kate White, who is MLA for Takhini-Kopper King at the territorial level. She quoted Coun. Kirk Cameron speaking about pairing with the Ukrainian city in a January 2023 article by CBC. 

“We are incredibly influential when it comes to our statement about fairness and human rights around the world,” White quoted Cameron saying at the time. “For us to step up and give our connection and allegiance and statement of support to that community, I think says a lot.” 

White agreed. She said that concept needs to be applied in this case.  

“It is and was important to stand with Ukraine, just as it's important to stand with Palestine. But when given the opportunity to stand in solidarity with Palestine, you chose instead to silence the debate,” she said. 

White noted that, for the second week in a row with delegates expected to speak to the motion, bylaw officers were posted outside the council chambers.  

“I have come to many council meetings over the years starting as a teenager, and last week was the first time that I have ever seen bylaw officers stationed outside this chamber,” she said. “Tonight is the second, and it said more about you than about those of us who are here to witness the motion in support of Palestine.” 

In an email to the News, City representative Matthew Cameron noted several examples in recent years when bylaw officers have been present at city hall during council meetings with a variety of topics. 

White noted not everyone is going to agree with the position that elected officials take. She said she did the “hardest thing I have ever done as an elected person” when she spoke out against the “violence in Palestine” in late October 2023. 

“This was hard because at the time people around the world were facing extreme backlash for calling out the violence. They were being removed from office, silenced in assembly chambers and more. But I knew that silence is violence, and I couldn't remain silent any longer. This situation is different now. This violence has been condemned by nations and communities across the world,” she said. 

“I think about my neighbours, my friends who fear the rise of violence and hate towards the Jewish community and towards the Muslim community. Anti-Semitism has no place here. Islamophobia has no place here. Hate has no place here. And I cannot in good conscience sit here and not talk about racism or oppression. This war shows a double standard in Canada and on the world stage. And this war has shown a double standard in this very council chamber.” 

In March, White put forward a motion in the Yukon Legislative Assembly calling on the house to urge the Government of Canada to demand an immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, the release of all hostages and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza. White's motion called for suspending all trade in military arms and technology with Israel. She called for the federal government to support the prosecution of all crimes and violations of international law committed in the region and the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. 

The legislative assembly hasn’t debated White’s calls for action. The motion wasn't voted on in the legislature.

Lisa Stewart from Riverdale spoke about the "importance of city council taking action to stand in solidarity with Palestinians against the current genocide committed by Israel,” citing scholars, institutions, courts and experts. 

Stewart implied the mayor and council were hiding behind procedure to stifle debate. 

“I, like many other residents of Whitehorse, was appalled to see the mayor and city council's actions over the last two weeks where they used policy and procedure to prevent discussion and debate on a motion that was long overdue,” Stewart said. 

Stewart noted Whitehorse residents have already taken action to support Palestine in the form of making donations and attending marches and rallies and writing letters to politicians and more.  

“It was intensely disappointing to see you, our elected representatives, not only silencing concerned community members, but also weaponizing policy to shut down even the possibility of us speaking to the proposed actions that council could take,” Stewart said. 

Stewart listed off multiple other municipal governments across Canada that she said have already called for ceasefire including Edmonton, Montreal and Saskatoon. 

“What makes Whitehorse so wildly different from these other cities that we are somehow uniquely disconnected from the networks that uphold the infrastructure of genocide?” Stewart asked. 

At least one speaker called for the city to disclose its investments in or support of the Israeli state. 

“Can city council say with 100-per-cent certainty that Whitehorse has absolutely no complicity in this genocide? For example, does city council know whether parts, metals, minerals or other items from the Yukon come from or are moving through Whitehorse on their way to destroy Gaza?” Stewart said. 

“If you are not 100-per-cent certain, [then] you have the duty and moral obligation as our representatives to act.” 

Rick Karp is president of the Jewish Cultural Society of Yukon. He took part in the delegation as an individual.

Karp told council chambers his thoughts are "considerably different from what we've heard so far."

“It is time for cessation in the war, the release of the hostages and the lasting peace in the area. There's no question about that,” he said. "This is such a complicated issue that it is something that the Canadian government has to deal with."

Karp suggested it would be “great” if the mayor and council wanted to "support the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.”

He questioned some of the statistics and information he says are cited as a "marketing tool" by Hamas and went on to pass information from the Israeli government, claiming that 18,000 of those killed in Gaza had been Hamas soldiers. 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports more than 36,000 Palestinians killed since last October via its website. 

Karp said there is "no excuse for what is going on" but spoke about efforts for peace in the region in past decades suggesting that the main hangup had been an unwillingness to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and guarantee its security. 

Karp was cut off at the five-minute limit for delegates' speeches.

Several rounds of chanting “free free Palestine” broke out in council chambers at the end of the delegates’ speeches. 

Once the delegations wrapped up after more than two hours and the meeting moved onto the planning committee portion, Friesen, who chairs the planning committee, chimed in. 

“Thank you everybody so much. I’m feeling very proud right now,” she said.  

The crowd responded with whooping and cheering, and the mayor brought Friesen back to the remainder of the meeting’s agenda.

— With files from Jim Elliot

Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com 

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story dated the CBC article regarding the Chortkiv sister city arrangement "Jan 2020." It has been edited to reflect the fact that the article was published in Jan. 2023.



Dana Hatherly

About the Author: Dana Hatherly

I’m the legislative reporter for the Yukon News.
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