Council rescinds May 5 Leadercast motion

Key Points

• The City of Nanaimo and its Council fully support and are committed to upholding the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Canadians under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Human Rights Code.
• If presented with comparable circumstances again, Nanaimo’s current Council is confident that actions similar to those taken on May 5 would not be repeated.
• Council heard from hundreds of residents and other Canadians concerned with the decision preventing the VICC from hosting the May 9 Leadercast event and the impact that decision had on rights and freedoms contained in the Canadian Charter.

Quotes

"We apologize and regret our actions stated in the motion passed May 5th. The motion was aimed at preventing divisiveness and hate but instead caused the opposite. We did not intend on curtailing free speech and apologize for any negative comment directed at people of all faiths."

Links

• Video link: Mayor Ruttan's July 3 statement

• June 26 Statement

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