Council chambers at Niagara Region headquarters were in an uproar Thursday evening after council chose to remove an item from its agenda, a motion brought forward by St. Catharines representative Haley Bateman asking the Regional government to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestine-Israel conflict.
At the start of the meeting, St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe made a motion to have Bateman’s proposed recommendations removed, which were to be considered several items down the list of items on the agenda.
“This matter does not pertain to any area of Niagara Region business or mandate,” said Siscoe. “The end result would be division in our community,” regardless of how council ended up voting on the matter later in the evening, he said.
A motion to call the question was supported by 24 members of council, opposed by only Bateman and Niagara-on-the-Lake Regional Councillor Andrea Kaiser, eliminating the possibility of further discussion.
A vote to strike Bateman’s motion from the agenda was also supported by council, leading to Chair Jim Bradley informing the packed gallery that registered delegations would also not be able to make presentations. There were 18 people listed as speakers to address the issue.
This prompted dozens of onlookers in the gallery to become frustrated, shouting "shame" and “cease fire now.” Chair Bradley then declared a 10-minute recess, saying that Regional Council’s procedural bylaw does not permit delegations speaking to non-agenda items.
On the livestream of the meeting, Bateman could be seen walking out of the chamber after council voted.
Above, gallery onlookers begin to chant in protest following council's decision to strike Bateman's motion from the agenda.
Social media quickly picked up on what was happening at the meeting, the crowd that had gathered outside the headquarters to protest the decision, and the speeches that were then delivered outside by people who were signed up to speak at the meeting.
A news release late Thursday night from the Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine Israel said that once delegates were told they were unable to speak to council, delegates and audience members gathered outside “in an impromptu rally to make the speeches they were denied by council.”
“The Niagara Region,” the statement continued, “has lit their headquarters in the colours of Israel’s flag ‘as a symbol of solidarity with Israel, and Niagara’s Jewish residents'” (statement by Regional Chair Jim Bradley, October 11, 2023). The motion had called for similar lighting in the colours of the Palestinian flag, done earlier by Edmonton, for Palestine and Niagara’s nearly 500 residents of Palestinian origin.
This matter does not pertain to any area of Niagara Region business or mandate
Bateman’s recommendation began with a request that council “offers support” to all the Israelis and Palestinian Canadians living in Niagara.
Bateman’s motion asked that the Region ask the federal government to remove the cap on the “number of Palestinians who can seek refuge with their Canadian extended family members from the violence in the Gaza Strip,” and to remove the cap on Palestinians who can seek refuge with their Canadian extended family members from the violence in the Gaza Strip. The motion said “many organizations who support those who have been so deeply affected have noted that that number is insufficient and not reflective of the extent of the crisis.”
In addition, Bateman's motion requested that the Region ask the federal government to treat those leaving the conflict zones and Palestinian territories as Ukrainians leaving that conflict, “including the removal of application fees, and social assistance when they arrive to Canada.
She had also planned to ask that that council consider lighting Regional headquarters the colour of the Palestinian flag on Jan. 29.
Bateman said in her motion that is not intended to foster racism, antisemitism and targeting of Jewish people living in Niagara, anti-Palestinian racism or Islamophobia.
“Instead, it is a reason to show solidarity and compassion for those who are living in Israel and Palestine.”
Responding to a request for comment on Friday, Andrea Kaiser said she voted against calling the question in order to generate more discussion, but she’s “not faulting anyone” and can see why others voted differently. “I do understand the rationale behind both perspectives,” and that there is a “time and a place” for certain discussions.
Council has previously discussed motions regarding the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, which to Kaiser was one reason that Bateman’s motion should not have been dismissed.
“As a councillor, I’d like to be consistent with that. If we decide that’s not in our lane, then we should do that across the board.”
Asked whether she believed Bateman’s motion could result in the federal government taking action, Kaiser said there were parts of the motion that she did not support.
“But we never got to that conversation.”
For her part, Bateman said Friday that her motion being blocked was calculated, and that there still should have been a conversation.
“Many motions come to council that are not exactly within our mandate, but we discuss, and we vote,” she said. “My colleagues did not afford me that opportunity and did not afford residents an opportunity to speak to their experiences as Palestinians and Israelis living in Niagara.”
If her motion were to have passed, Bateman said it would have shown Palestinian residents that Niagara Region is “empathetic to all they are going through,” and supportive of Humanitarian aid efforts to getting their loved ones what they need.
Bateman countered that Siscoe’s contention that her motion would cause division in Niagara was “not a reflection of our community,” and that what was most unfortunate was that people who wanted to be heard were not.
Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin told PelhamToday that he voted against the Bateman motion because it was "way outside the wheelhouse of Regional Council."
"I get it that this group feels they have the right to be heard," said Junkin, "which they most certainly have, but I would encourage them to have their discussions with their federal MPs, where their voices might well lead to changes in the federal government’s stance. There is nothing that we, as a Regional government in Ontario, can do for them."
Diana Huson, Pelham's other Regional Councillor, declined to comment, citing a family emergency.
With files by Dave Burket.
Updated to include comment from Councillors Bateman and Kaiser.
