Courtenay councillors discussed their role how the city responded to the ongoing crisis in Gaza during their July 17 meeting.
Council received a letter from Comox Valley for Palestine (CV4P), a local group who are a part of the global solidarity movement for Palestine. The letter expresses the group's "profound disappointment and frustration with the City of Courtenay's handling of the escalating crisis in Gaza," saying that though council reiterated the Canadian government's calls for a ceasefire, "this statement came far too late and only after persistent pressure from CV4P members.
"Courtenay Council鈥檚 statement regrettably fails to address the genocide explicitly. Instead, it adopts a misleading stance of false equivalence, equating the systematic extermination of Palestinian civilians with the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. This both-sides rhetoric is deeply problematic and emblematic of anti-Palestinian racism. It is notable that Courtenay did not hesitate to waive rental fees for a Ukraine fundraiser, raise the Ukrainian flag, or post ways to support Ukraine on its website without requiring a delegation鈥檚 appeal. The contrasting responses to the Ukrainian and Palestinian crises underscore a blatant double standard rooted in racial bias and white supremacy," the letter, which is , says.
Councillor Evan Jolicoeur spoke first, saying that while he "totally empathizes" with the group, "one of the challenging points, a year and a half into my role on city council, is to really understand ... cities' responsibility to speak on international issues.
"My colleagues have communicated that we are all free to share our personal opinions, and as someone who has been quite active in the community and others on this file, I think it has been a challenge for me to understand my role as a city councillor," he said.
"I did just want to take this opportunity to acknowledge their continued advocacy and for their continued support for Palestinians and for the Palestinian plight in the face of what most international observers are clearly articulating as possible genocide. This is not something to hold lightly on. I want to clarify that as a supporter of the cause, this is something that we did our best on in the context of city council."
Councillor David Frisch acknowledged the point made describing the double standard and Eurocentric point of view, saying "I'll just speak for myself, but that may in fact be a reality, although unintentional.
"I want to acknowledge the ease at which we did speak out against the war in Ukraine was quite different than how we came about our statement on the Israel/Palestine issue," he said. "I don't know a lot about world politics, but I don't know that that's an excuse, so I want to acknowledge that that possibly does exist, and I appreciate them pointing that out."
Councillor Doug Hillian said that he and Councillor Wendy Morin had met with members of CV4P and that while some members wanted to make a delegation to council, others felt that a delegation was not necessary.
"We did in fact make a statement that captured the points that the delegates that we met with asked us to cover, and on that basis, I reject the accusations that are being made against this council of racism," he said. "It's obviously an incredibly complicated issue, and that is why it is difficult for us to stray into these waters."
