Yellowknife (Mar 26/03) - Yellowknife city council defeated in a 4-3 vote Monday night a motion to express its opposition to the war in Iraq.

Coun. Ben McDonald moved the motion, which was authored by Yellowknife resident Adam Smith, who read the resolution to council to applause from about a dozen supporters in the gallery.

He called the war illegal, called for a diplomatic resolution and commended the federal government for its refusal to take part in the military operation. McDonald, as well as councillors Wendy Bisaro and Robert Hawkins supported the motion while councillors Blake Lyons, David McCann, Dave Ramsay and Alan Woytuik voted against it.

Council took a 10-minute recess to consider the motion and debated it for 15 more minutes. Most of the discussion was based on whether Yellowknife, which has no jurisdiction in the area of foreign policy, could usefully comment on the war.

Woytuik and McCann said they voted against the motion, in part, because they believe that council should stay out of international affairs.

"As much as I support peace and anti-violence, I don't feel comfortable supporting this kind of thing," said McCann. Smith, who said he may bring a reworded resolution to a future council meeting, didn't buy that argument.

McDonald argued that council was obligated to take a stand on the war effort once a motion was presented before them.

"We're talking about a moral issue and it's incumbent on every one of us to take a stand on a moral issue when asked to by our constituents," he said.

"Although we're responsible for putting sewers in the ground and installing sidewalks, I do believe we as council have a responsibility to speak for Yellowknife as its collective voice."

Lyons said the motion should have support allowing Canada to use military force if the situation in Iraq snowballs into an unexpected danger.

"I appreciate the intent," he said. "But what we're essentially saying here is that we'll sit back even if (Iraq) presents an obvious, clear and present danger."

Bisaro said she seconded the motion because she feels it's an important issue that all municipalities should consider.