mid ongoing hostilities and a mounting death toll in Gaza, Burnaby city council is urging the prime minister to press for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Councillors voted Monday for Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley to write a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and a flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
The motion also condemned all acts of antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia that have risen since the escalation of violence.
Coun. Daniel Tetrault, who initiated the motion, said he was motivated after reading that the death toll in Gaza had topped 10,000 according to the Gazan health ministry, including more than 4,000 children, and that entire families had been wiped out.
“Grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers and their children, gone — it immediately brings me back to looking at my own family tree and learning how much of my grandparents’ family have been wiped out in the Nazi Holocaust,” Tetrault told council in an emotional speech.
“When my grandparents spoke of this time as survivors of concentration camps, they always said, ‘Never again. Never again can we allow this to happen to anyone.'”
He went on to cite multiple non-governmental organizations, including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders and Unicef, saying the situation on the ground is unprecedented.
“The collective punishment and targeting of civilians must stop,” he said. “I have heard from many residents directly and indirectly affected by what is happening in Gaza and in Israel. They are pleading with the government to take action.”
Coun. Maita Santiago spoke in favour of the motion, her own voice cracking with emotion at points.
The more than 4,000 children reportedly killed in Gaza, Santiago said, was about the equivalent of a full-capacity event at Burnaby’s own Swangard Stadium.
“Behind each number is one person,” she said.
“In reports, it’s also been stated that every 10 minutes, a child is killed in Gaza. We started our council meeting at around 5 p.m., so that’s at least about more than 12 children who have been killed since we started.”
Hurley complimented Tetrault for proposing the motion and said he looked forward to writing to Ottawa.
“I think it is absolutely appropriate at this time that we should ask the prime minister to use any power he has to call for a ceasefire and to allow for humanitarian aid to enter into an area where young children are presently buried and probably choking to death in dust,” Hurley, a former firefighter, told council.
“That is unacceptable.”