Tuesday, December 23, 2025
ADVT 
National

Eby deplores 'most hateful' speech praising Hamas attack, as UBC protest camp begins

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Apr, 2024 03:21 PM
  • Eby deplores 'most hateful' speech praising Hamas attack, as UBC protest camp begins

Charlotte Kates of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network told the rally outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Friday that the attack was "heroic and brave." 

Eby said the comments about the attack, that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were "the most hateful" he could imagine.

"Celebrating the murder, the rape of innocent people attending a music festival, it's awful," Eby said at an unrelated news conference on Monday. 

"It's reprehensible, and it shouldn't take place in British Columbia. There is clearly an element of some individuals using an international tragedy to promote hate that's completely unacceptable."

Kates and Samidoun did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Eby also remarked on an encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters that began at the University of B.C. on Monday. 

Similar camps have appeared on campuses across the United States, as well as at McGill University in Montreal and the University of Ottawa.

At McGill, activists have set up dozens of tents. The university said Monday morning it had seen video evidence of some protesters using "unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour" during the protest.

The UBC camp included about 20 tents on MacInnes Field by noon Monday.

Eby said a university campus, while a protected space for free speech, should foster a safe space for students of all backgrounds, especially for Jewish students during a time they feel "particularly alone on campuses and need additional support to feel safe."

"I have no reason to doubt that the leadership, both student and administration, at UBC will find that balance between ensuring students are safe and making sure that atmosphere of free exchange of ideas can continue to take place on campus."

In a series of messages posted on social media platform X, UBC protest organizers have asked supporters to bring tents and sandbags, as well as food, water, first aid and generators.

Naisha Khan, a spokeswoman for the protest camp, said tents started going up at 5 a.m. Monday, with attendees from UBC, Simon Fraser University and Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Khan said they wouldn't leave until UBC supported the Palestinian right to "resistance," and the right of return to what is now Israel.

In a written response, UBC spokesman Matthew Ramsey said the school is monitoring the situation and keeping in contact with the RCMP.

Protests must "be taken with respect for others and within the boundaries of university policy and the law," he said.

"We also remind everyone that hate and intolerance have no place at UBC," Ramsey said. "The university must be a place of reasoned debate where conflicting views can peacefully coexist."

Before Eby, the Vancouver Art Gallery rally had drawn condemnation from Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who called it a "celebration of terrorism and antisemitism."

Sim said in a post on X on Sunday that people who "spew this vile hatred" were not welcome in the city.

Liberal member for Vancouver Granville Taleeb Noormohamed said on X that "glorifying Oct. 7 is unacceptable" and "does nothing to promote peace," while B.C. Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon called the speech a "celebration of the heinous murder of Jews."

MORE National ARTICLES

Google to pay $100M a year to Canadian news publishers in deal with Ottawa

Google to pay $100M a year to Canadian news publishers in deal with Ottawa
Ottawa has agreed to set a $100-million yearly cap on payments that Google will be required to make to media companies when the government's controversial online news legislation takes effect at the end of the year. The announcement Wednesday has the Liberals bending to the tech giant's demands after Google threatened back in February to remove news from its platform.

Google to pay $100M a year to Canadian news publishers in deal with Ottawa

Squamish hit and run leaves one dead

Squamish hit and run leaves one dead
The crash happened September 2nd, 2022, when the driver of a pickup truck lost control navigating a corner and the vehicle flipped over a sidewalk and landed on a bus stop, pinning two women who were sitting there. Police say 44-year-old Gurpreet Sangha died in hospital, while the second woman survived with "life-altering injuries."

Squamish hit and run leaves one dead

B.C. finds solution for religious ban on assistance in dying at St. Paul's Hospital

B.C. finds solution for religious ban on assistance in dying at St. Paul's Hospital
The British Columbia government has announced a workaround to help those who want to use medical assistance in dying while they are being treated St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. A statement from the Health Ministry says Vancouver Coastal Health will set up a clinical space adjacent to St. Paul's, allowing it to continue to refuse to opt out of medical assistance in dying on religious grounds.  

B.C. finds solution for religious ban on assistance in dying at St. Paul's Hospital

Post about Vancouver sex assault was 'misinformation,' woman fell off scooter: VPD

Post about Vancouver sex assault was 'misinformation,' woman fell off scooter: VPD
The Vancouver Police Department says a viral social media post claiming a woman had been violently abducted and sexually assaulted in East Vancouver in early November was based on "misinformation." Police say they reviewed security footage and interviewed witnesses, and found the woman who was allegedly assaulted had actually fallen off an electric scooter and hit her face on the pavement. 

Post about Vancouver sex assault was 'misinformation,' woman fell off scooter: VPD

Indigenous signage aims to make B.C. legislature more inclusive, accepting

Indigenous signage aims to make B.C. legislature more inclusive, accepting
The Speaker of British Columbia's legislature says the unveiling of Indigenous-themed signs outside the building is a necessary step toward opening doors that have been historically closed. Raj Chouhan says the B.C. legislature is the province's largest symbol of colonialism, but it's his priority to make the building a more welcoming and inclusive place.  

Indigenous signage aims to make B.C. legislature more inclusive, accepting

Vancouver Bright Nights extended til Jan

Vancouver Bright Nights extended til Jan
The Vancouver Park Board has two Christmas surprises for everyone who missed out on snagging the tickets for the Stanley Park Christmas Train. The Park Board says it’s releasing another 17-thousand tickets for the Bright Nights event and it’s also extending the run until January 6th due to high demand.

Vancouver Bright Nights extended til Jan