City council will vote on a motion next week calling for the federal government to advocate for a long-term ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The three-part motion, to be voted on at the Dec. 11 regular council meeting, was heard at council’s governance and priorities committee meeting on Monday afternoon. It calls for Mayor Rebecca Alty to write a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to have the federal government call for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza;” and also includes the restoration of basic services like food, water, power, fuel, communications. It also calls for medical services to be provided to the people of Gaza, “unhindered access for humanitarian aid; and the “release of all hostages.”
Part of the motion will also affirm Israel’s right to exist and will condemn acts of anti-Semitism, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia in Yellowknife.
NWT MP Michael McLeod is to be cc’ed on the letter sent to Trudeau and Joly, according to the motion.
On Oct. 7, Palestinian militants led by Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israeli people, according to an updated total from the country's foreign ministry. Attacks included the rape and mutilation of women and the capture of more than 200 people, several of whom have since been released. In response, the Israeli government declared war and began targeted attacks in northern Gaza. Gaza's health ministry says more than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the federal government.
On Monday, four city councillors voiced their support for the motion, especially after hearing a presentation from a group called Yk Citizens for Ceasefire the week before. Councillors said they have also been receiving multiple emails and correspondence in recent days.
Coun. Tom McLennan said the actions surrounding the conflict should be constituted as war crimes, pointing to the targeting and kidnapping of civilians, destruction of infrastructure, and interruption of basic necessities in Gaza, as examples.
“I believe Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack to be a brutal war crime and targeting and kidnapping of civilians in their homes is horrific,” he said. “I also believe Israel’s response to be a war crime. Israel is practicing collective punishment. This can be seen in the destruction of whole areas of Gaza, the destruction of hospitals and refugee camps, as well as the interruption of basic necessities such as water, food, fuel and electricity. This is also horrific.”
McLennan said after discussing the conflict with residents over the last week, the city should use its voice to advocate for a long-term ceasefire while avoiding taking sides in the conflict and steering clear of creating divisions in Yellowknife.
Other councillors concurred.
Coun. Ben Hendriksen, who fought back tears during his statement, said although foreign affairs are outside the city’s jurisdiction, it isn’t rare for the city to deal with issues like immigration or education when it affects municipal operations. He further stated that controversial issues like the Israel-Hamas conflict shouldn’t be shied away from if it is deemed that the Government of Canada isn’t properly doing so.
“The reality of politics is that people want a voice from their political leaders,” he said. “Many, including myself, aren’t seeing that nationally so they instead are looking closer to home to find someone with any amount of influence — no matter how small that influence is — who cares about a ceasefire and an end to death.”
Hendriksen said that although council is getting some criticism for not addressing other world conflicts, he added that the Israel-Hamas war is different.
“The answer for me is that unlike the war in Ukraine, the killing of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the cultural genocide of Uyghur in China to name a few as examples, Canada is not speaking decisively on this issue,” he said.
“What these motions do is amplify the voice of the Yellowknifers, some with family in Israel and Gaza, who are horrified by what is occurring and also horrified by the silence of their national government, who for some inexplicable reason, to me, at least, cannot bring itself to call for a cessation of killing.”
Couns. Ryan Fequet and Cat McGurk made similar statements. Fequet noted that the response from residents has been ‘overwhelming’ and that the conflict shouldn’t be considered as far away as it may seem as many residents are grappling with the war’s fallout through social media.
“The truth is that we are not so distant and far away from this conflict as we think,” he said
“For many Yellowknifers, the terror attacks of October 7 and the bombing of Gaza is distant. It is a world away and others are struggling right here in their own way in our community. But there are also your Yellowknifers where this isn’t abstract or simply a social media story. There are colleagues and friends among us who have direct ties whose families have suffered tragedy because of this conflict, and are in real peril every minute of every day.”
McGurk agreed that the federal government isn’t taking a stance on a war that one day people will be viewed as “genocidal.”
“Taking action falls down the chain politically and we should not through silence condone violence,” she said.
No councillors to date have opposed the motion, however Alty stated that members will have up to the day of the motion’s vote to collect their thoughts and make a stated opinion.
This story has been updated to reflect the corrected Israeli death toll and the amount of Palestinian casualties, according to both sides.