Calls for ceasefire discussions 'out of order', Canada mayor says

The mayor of the Canadian city of Oakville has referred to a motion for the council to discuss calling “for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire [in Gaza]; and release of all hostages”, “out of order” and an effort to “promote hatred and divisive anti-Semitic views”.

Announcing that the item would be removed from the evening’s agenda, Mayor Rob Burton said: “It also appears that some members of the public may see the meeting about the item as a platform to use to promote hatred and divisive anti-Semitic views to give comfort to Gazans fighting Israel.”

Burton’s decision came in spite of the fact he said he had received “hundreds of emails from across Canada” on the motion.

Upon hearing his decision, the crowd, including 24 delegates who had been scheduled to provide presentations in support of the motion, refused to leave. The police were called and the meeting halted for four hours.

The presentations included testimony from a Palestinian-Canadian doctor who had volunteered in a Gaza hospital during Israel’s current bombing campaign and saw first hand the atrocities being committed on the ground. Referencing the planned presentation, Burton said: “Delegations tonight appear to be intending to be problematic too. The clerks have made me aware of a graphic presentation to be provided tonight by a delegate and that presentation features gory photos of bloody wounds and corpses that are so horrific they are obscene.”

“I feel this kind of presentation has no place at a council meeting under the terms of our procedure bylaw.”

Although dozens of cities across Canada have issued similar statements calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Oakville’s ruling is not without precedent – Hamilton and Niagara Falls have both recently thrown out ceasefire resolutions from their agendas, Oakland News has reported.

The motion had been known to be on the agenda for two weeks.

READ: 30 Palestinians held by Israel found dead, handcuffed inside Gaza school: NGO