Today, Victoria’s city council voted 7-1 in favour of all councillors receiving code of conduct training based on recommendations after an investigation of Councillor Susan Kim’s online activity late last year.
Councillor Kim signed a controversial open letter regarding the Israel-Hamas war which belittled the atrocities committed on the Israeli people during the October 7th attack.
She also liked a tweet which read, “Power to every Palestinian fighting for their freedom, and glory to every martyr who dies fighting. For every martyr that falls, a new one will rise.”
The scope of the investigation was to determine whether she took these actions in an official role or as a private citizen because she included her title of “City Councillor” in both her signature on the letter and her X (formerly Twitter) account’s bio.
Ultimately the investigation found she made an error in good faith, thinking she was acting as a citizen, but having those lines between private and public life blurred.
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In the Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday, June 27th, Kim recused herself from the meeting to let the rest of council determine her fate.
The investigator who handled this incident called for all councillors to undergo code of conduct training, and this is what Mayor Marianne Alto thought was the best course of action.
Councillor Stephen Hammond said he thought Kim should also have to write an apology letter, for which she could use an apology she has already issued, but that motion to amend the outcome was struck down with only Hammond and Councillor Marg Gardiner voting in favour.
Mayor Alto said that she believed the investigation and subsequent report were thorough enough and that council should follow its direction.
In the end, council voted 7-1 in favour of all taking code of conduct training with only Gardiner opposing.
