In the midst of a changing relationship between Canada and the United States, the regional Halifax council will analyze whether the municipality must continue to use the social media platform owned by Elon Musks X.
The motion at the Tuesday Council meeting caused a lively debate on how the municipality should communicate with its residents and if local governments should make such political statements.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, lashed out at Canada since he assumed the position last month, pointing to one of his largest commercial partners with strong tariffs and insisting that the country becomes state 51.
Meanwhile, Trump selected Musk, the unleashed billionaire CEO of Tesla and Spacex, to lead the so -called government efficiency department, which caused protests to the south of the border. Musk is also accused of giving two Nazi greetings during the presidential inauguration.
Lawyer Laura White presented a motion asking for a personnel report to determine the viability of eliminating X, previously known as Twitter, as a social networks platform used by the regional municipality of Halifax.
“The reason for the moment … is only the alignment of the owner of this platform with the current government in the United States, the same government that suggests that we become a state,” said White, who represents the Halifax South Downtown district .
The municipality currently uses X, which was created in 2006, but was acquired by Musk in 2022, to provide information on things such as municipal services, public ads and the result of the articles of the council agenda. The account has around 78,800 followers.
Lawyer Patty Cuttell said he feels that the platform has become “hostile.”
“Many people say that X is not a safe space … It is not what it used to be, so I hope to see what some of the options are,” said Cuttell, who represents the Spryfield-Sambro Loop district.
“However, it is true about any social networks we use. I mean, they are all the property of technological billionaires in the United States. We do not immerse ourselves in the ethics of all of them.”
He added that perhaps HFXalert, the municipality’s mass notification system to inform residents about emergencies and operations updates, could be adapted for use for other forms of communication.
Trish Purdy lawyer said he didn’t support the motion.
“I think we must be neutral and not make political movements like this,” said Purdy, who represents the Cole Harbor-Preson-Westphal-Cerry Brook district.
“If the municipality wants to get out of any social networks and use another because they think that is where most people will be treated, I have no problem with that whenever it is not a political statement.”
For years, X has been used as a vital tool of government communication worldwide, which allows the immediate dissemination of information, especially in evolving situations such as evil time.
But the recent political movements of Trump and Musk’s new controversial role in the United States government have led some policy formulators to condemn the companies it possesses.
Earlier this week, NDP federal leader Jagmeet Singh said he wants to put a 100 percent tariff on Tesla vehicles.
Lawyer Sam Austin said he has heard valid concerns of community members about how X has operated since Musk took over three years ago.
“The decisive factor for me is the owner at this time … that it is not just another type of megalomaniac multimillionaire, but is an integral part of the presidency in the states that wants our country to be bad economically,” said Austin.
“They do not have our best interests in the heart in any way. And leaving x … that is something symbolic that we can do.”
Alexandra Samuel, author of Work Smarter with social networks, says that the recent exodus of X users about the behavior of the owner Elon Musk shows that no social networks platform is infallible. She provided advice from both organizations and people who observe how to administer their presence X.
