Tuesday, June 9, 2026
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

Male suspect allegedly stabs another male passenger in the abdomen on SkyTrain travelling to Surrey Central Station

Male suspect allegedly stabs another male passenger in the abdomen on SkyTrain travelling to Surrey Central Station
While the train was in motion, there was an alleged verbal interaction between the victim and a nearby male passenger, which resulted in the male passenger pulling out a sharp object and stabbing the victim in the abdomen.

Male suspect allegedly stabs another male passenger in the abdomen on SkyTrain travelling to Surrey Central Station

Weekend home invasion investigation continues: Ridge Meadows RCMP

Weekend home invasion investigation continues: Ridge Meadows RCMP
Ridge Meadows R-C-M-P say they were called to a home at 1:30 in the morning on Saturday on Garden Street after receiving a report of a home invasion they say was targeted. R-C-M-P say officers held the scene as they awaited a search warrant, which was executed by the detachment’s Investigative Support Team. 

Weekend home invasion investigation continues: Ridge Meadows RCMP

Vancouver police officer tells inquest he punched Myles Gray as hard as he could

Vancouver police officer tells inquest he punched Myles Gray as hard as he could
A Vancouver police officer told a British Columbia coroner’s jury that he punched Myles Gray in the head as hard as he could several times because he didn’t think anything else would work to subdue the man, other than shooting him.

Vancouver police officer tells inquest he punched Myles Gray as hard as he could

Sociologist says pandemic may have made Canadian youth less empathetic, meaner

Sociologist says pandemic may have made Canadian youth less empathetic, meaner
The challenges of confinement also made parents less strict about managing children's screen time, she said, calling for "more preparation, education, support and scaffolding that goes into young people's use of digital technologies."

Sociologist says pandemic may have made Canadian youth less empathetic, meaner

Many passport renewals on pause during federal public service workers' strike

Many passport renewals on pause during federal public service workers' strike
More than 155,000 public servants are now on strike after the country's biggest federal public-sector union and the government failed to reach a deal by a Tuesday evening deadline.

Many passport renewals on pause during federal public service workers' strike

TSB probe underway after one injured in RCMP plane crash at Whitehorse airport

TSB probe underway after one injured in RCMP plane crash at Whitehorse airport
A statement from the board says the team arrived Tuesday, a day after the single-engine turboprop Pilatus PC 12 went down just before noon. The board says a decision will be made about the potential to improve transportation safety by conducting a full investigation.

TSB probe underway after one injured in RCMP plane crash at Whitehorse airport