A special delegation addressed city council on Tuesday, July 21, requesting Maple Ridge declare itself an Apartheid Free Community.
Maple Ridge Friends For Peace – a group with about 215 members, who are dedicated to seeking peace and justice worldwide through outreach, education, and action – want Mayor Dan Ruimy, and council to sign an Apartheid Free Community pledge, joining other communities demanding an end to “Israel’s Apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.”
By taking the pledge, the City of Maple Ridge will be committing to freedom, justice, and equality, not just for Palestinian people but for all people, said Greta Borick-Cunningham, with Friends For Peace.
Signatories also confirm their opposition to all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression – and they are pledging not to have ties that reinforce structural injustices.
Borick-Cunningham, who made the presentation before city council with fellow group member Katrina Driver, noted that Apartheid Free Communities is a growing network in more than 400 communities across Canada and can also be found in 30 countries globally.
They reviewed the definition of apartheid, which, according to the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, is any inhuman act committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of people over any other racial group of people and systematically oppressing them.
Borick-Cunningham noted that there is broad international consensus, “that Israel has established a system of apartheid over Palestinians and is committing the acts of genocide in Gaza,” including from groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Driver asked mayor and council to take a stand on Palestine.
“Firstly your duty is to reflect the voice of the majority of the people you serve. Silence is not neutrality, it is a failure to represent the community’s conscience,” she said.
“Second, uphold Canadian values universally. We pride ourselves of being a nation built on human rights, democracy, and anti-racism. But, these values must be applied universally, not selectively. True integrity means standing for justice everywhere, especially when it is difficult,” added Driver.
They asked council to sign the pledge at the next meeting on July 28, a date which council said they could not commit to.
However, council said they would come up with a future date.