TORONTO, ONTARIO | Toronto mayoral candidate Bahira Abdulsalam says she would introduce a City Hall motion intended to welcome families from Gaza if elected in the Oct. 26 municipal election.
Abdulsalam, a professional engineer whose name appears on the City of Toronto’s official list of certified mayoral candidates, described the proposal in remarks circulated online.
“So here is my first motion to the city hall, if elected as a mayor of the city of Toronto,” she said.
Abdulsalam said the proposed motion would begin by examining Toronto’s purchasing practices.
“First, disclose, show Torontonians what our city buys, who it buys from and measure this against the international law,” she said.
She then turned to Gaza.
“Second, we open our doors for families grieving from Gaza and coming here to the city.”
Her remarks do not explain how many people she wants Toronto to receive, what immigration category they would use, how the initiative would be financed, or what municipal services would be provided.
They also do not explain how City Hall would evaluate its suppliers against “international law,” or what contracts and jurisdictions the proposed review would cover.
A Promise Beyond Municipal Authority
A Toronto mayor cannot issue visas, grant refugee status or admit foreign nationals to Canada.
Immigration is constitutionally shared between the federal and provincial governments. Municipal governments can fund settlement services, provide housing assistance, support community organizations and lobby other levels of government, but they do not control admission decisions.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada determines admissibility and administers Canada’s immigration and refugee programs. The federal government explains that people cannot apply directly to Canada for refugee resettlement. Candidates must be identified through recognized referral or sponsorship processes and undergo federal processing. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867 assigns immigration authority to Parliament and provincial legislatures. It does not give municipalities an independent power to admit newcomers. Justice Canada
Abdulsalam could ask Toronto City Council to support a federal humanitarian program or allocate municipal resources for newcomers already authorized to enter Canada. She could not simply “open” Toronto’s borders.
Gaza Becomes a Municipal Campaign Issue
The proposal places the Israel-Hamas war within a campaign for an office principally responsible for municipal services, including housing, transit, policing, road maintenance, sanitation and property taxation.
Toronto is already facing significant pressure on its shelter system and housing supply. Any proposal to provide additional municipal support to newcomers would therefore carry financial and logistical consequences that would require council approval.
Abdulsalam’s proposal also raises questions about whether equivalent municipal assistance would be offered to other victims of war and persecution, including Israelis displaced or injured by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack.
Her published remarks did not mention Israeli hostages, survivors of the massacre or families displaced from Israeli communities.
They also did not indicate whether people arriving from Gaza would undergo any security process beyond the screening already required by federal authorities.
Candidate Has Faced Previous Controversy
Abdulsalam has previously drawn attention for public commentary about Israel and Hamas.
The Jerusalem Post reported in August that she faced disciplinary proceedings before the Professional Engineers Ontario Discipline Committee over online statements about the war and Canadian domestic issues. A disciplinary proceeding does not itself establish professional misconduct, and allegations must be determined through the regulator’s process.
Her latest remarks demonstrate that Gaza is not a peripheral issue in her campaign. She says it would form part of her first proposed action at City Hall.
Voters are entitled to ask what the commitment would mean in practice.
They are also entitled to ask whether a mayoral candidate’s first priority should be a foreign conflict over which the municipal government has no jurisdiction, rather than the immediate services and responsibilities Toronto residents elect a mayor to manage.
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