Monday, June 29, 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

Sept. 30 won't be a stat holiday in most provinces

Sept. 30 won't be a stat holiday in most provinces
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have declared Sept. 30 a statutory holiday. The other provinces and territories are choosing to observe the day in various ways, while some continue consultations with Indigenous groups and businesses about whether to make it a stat.

Sept. 30 won't be a stat holiday in most provinces

More staff needed to ease border delays: union

More staff needed to ease border delays: union
Weber spoke at a House of Commons committee meeting looking at the ArriveCan app, which has been used for providing travel and public health information before and after people enter Canada. The cabinet order mandating vaccine requirements and use of ArriveCan for incoming travellers expires at the end of Friday and the government says it will not be renewed.

More staff needed to ease border delays: union

B.C. seniors stage rally, seeking park for elders

B.C. seniors stage rally, seeking park for elders
About 100 seniors, many using walkers and motorized scooters and carrying placards, took part in the protest near the land owned by the Greater Victoria School District, and say they are being shut out of green space near their homes.

B.C. seniors stage rally, seeking park for elders

BC Liberals looking to rebrand with a top choice for party name vote

BC Liberals looking to rebrand with a top choice for party name vote
As part of this process, every BC Liberal member will have the opportunity before the end of the year to vote in favour of changing the name to BC United or keep the existing BC Liberal Party name. In the meantime, BC United has been registered with Elections BC as an alternate name for the BC Liberal Party. 

BC Liberals looking to rebrand with a top choice for party name vote

B.C. senior convicted of 11 counts of sex assault

B.C. senior convicted of 11 counts of sex assault
Coquitlam resident Raymond Gaglardi appeared in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Monday, and court records show he was convicted on 11 counts. The charges related to historical sexual assaults of young men or teenage boys who attended several Coquitlam-area churches between 1993 and 2007.  

B.C. senior convicted of 11 counts of sex assault

Daily heat records set in many areas of B.C.

Daily heat records set in many areas of B.C.
Environment Canada says a preliminary review of daily maximum temperatures shows records were set in areas from the south and central coasts to the central Interior and northeastern sections of B.C.

Daily heat records set in many areas of B.C.