Toronto workers tear down hostage baby Bibas posters
Municipality says it would be more mindful of such interactions, but it is unclear if bylaws were violated
After municipal workers were filmed tearing down awareness posters for baby hostage Kfir Bibas in Toronto’s Cedarvale Park on Tuesday, the city assured that it would take greater care with such matters.
Writer Semyon Dovzhik saw the city workers removing hostage posters from utility poles in the park, and began to film and demand why they were taking the posters down. The municipal workers told Dovzhik not to film them.
“We were asked to,” said a city worker. “By our supervisor.”
Dovzhik attempted to explain that the posters were of people who were kidnapped.
“It doesn’t matter what the sign says – if it says for guitar lessons, we have to take it down, too,” said the city employee, who went on to add that anything on the utility poles had to be removed regardless of subject matter.
City of Toronto Spokesperson Russell Baker said that “City of Toronto staff are tasked with keeping our parks tidy, which includes bathroom upkeep, mowing parks and ensuring these shared spaces are clean.”
“In this case, we recognize that the interaction should have
been dealt with more care,” said Baker.
Former Canadian ambassador to Israel Vivian Bercovici asserted on social media that the policy of removal of Israeli hostage posters in a “very Jewish neighborhood” was antisemitism sanctioned by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
“She would not dare to do something so stupid and insensitive to any other identifiable religious or ethnic group in Toronto,” Bercovici wrote on X.
Toronto has patrols enforcing bylaws for posting on public property. A community poster “identifying missing persons, pets or items, or promoting citizen participation in religious, civic, charitable, or non-profit activities such as advertising festivals, community events, local artistic and cultural events, local community services, and political ideas” may be placed on utility poles, according to Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 693: Signs.