Protesters at the Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto on Saturday.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
An annual pro-Palestinian rally went ahead in Toronto on Saturday with a heavy police presence after an Ontario judge dismissed the province’s last-minute attempt to block it.
The Al-Quds Day rally outside the United States Consulate drew thousands to downtown Toronto, some waiving Palestinian and Iranian flags and chanting “Free Palestine.” Other counterprotesters waved Israeli, American and Trump flags, as well as those of pre-revolution Iran.
Toronto police estimated a crowd of 4,500 people and confirmed two arrests at the event. Police spokeswoman Nadine Ramadan said it was her understanding that both were counterprotesters.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford had sought to stop the demonstration from taking place. His government formally filed a motion for an injunction at midday on Saturday, just hours before the rally was set to begin outside the consulate – which was shot at in the early morning hours on Tuesday.
The Premier had argued the rally was a “breeding ground for hate and antisemitism.” But organizers said it did no such thing, and civil liberties groups expressed concerns about trampling on people’s rights to protest.
Protesters and counterprotesters near the U.S. Consulate in Toronto.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
On Saturday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Centa said there was “insufficient evidence” that police needed the injunction to keep the peace at the protest, and cited the Charter rights of the participants.
“The court expects the participants not to engage in any criminal or tortious activity during the protest. The court expects the police to enforce the law. No order of this court is necessary to achieve either of those ends,” the judge said in a brief decision delivered by video conference, less than an hour before the rally march was set to begin.
“The right to assemble and speak freely must be maintained in times of global conflict. Perhaps at no other time is the protection of our civil liberties more important. At the same time, the security of all members of the public depend on the police enforcing the laws that are already on the books.”
After the ruling, Mr. Ford said he was “extremely disappointed” the court would not stop the rally, which he said “has long been a venue for antisemitism, hatred, intimidation and the glorification of terrorism.”
“While the judge cited Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, when we talk about rights we need to be clear that every person has the right to safety and security. We need to be clear that no one in Canada has the right to incite violence or free licence to intimidate and hate,” Mr. Ford said a statement.
“The judge also said that Toronto Police Service do not need an injunction to preserve the peace. That’s unbelievable! If that’s the case, I fully expect that the police will immediately intervene at the first sign of hate, violence or glorification of terrorist organizations.”
In a social media post later on Saturday, Toronto Police said they have a heavy presence downtown and will be making arrests for anyone who breaks the law.
“Interfering with officers performing their duties or engaging in violence or any criminal behaviour will not be tolerated,” it said.
The rally went ahead on Saturday with a heavy police presence.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
In its submission with the court, the Ontario government alleged links between the Toronto rally and designated terrorist group Samidoun.
The province said the Al-Quds Day rally “began as the brainchild of a terrorist regime,” and has a forum “for the expression of the most hateful antisemitism and for the counselling of violence.”
Tom Curry, a lawyer for Lenczner Slaght acting for the province, said the rally is linked with Samidoun, a designated terrorist group, which issued a “call to action” this week about Zionism and U.S. imperialism, and referenced the resistance of Iran and Lebanon.
“That is a very important connection between rising levels of antisemitism and extraordinary violence in the city,” Mr. Curry told the court in a hearing broadcast on Zoom.
Mr. Curry also said the Ontario Attorney-General showed “restraint” in waiting to file the injunction until it was required “for the protection of the community,” referencing “escalating events” this week in Canada and abroad.
The province said the Al-Quds Day events in Toronto have historically attracted counterprotests from various groups, with Iranian-Canadian counterprotesters expected at the rally this year.
It said the risk of confrontation is particularly acute given recent incidents of violence across the Greater Toronto Area, including at shootings at Toronto synagogues and the consulate.
Demonstrators argue with counterprotesters in downtown Toronto. Police estimated a crowd of 4,500 people on Saturday.Laura Proctor/Reuters
Shane Martinez, a lawyer for the organizers – the Al-Quds Committee – said the province was attempting to stop the rally at the eleventh hour for political reasons and if the government was truly concerned about violence, the injunction would have happened earlier.
“It’s a politicized order from the executive,” he said.
Mr. Martinez said there is no evidence of arrests at previous rallies or links to any criminal activity, and denied connections to Samidoun.
“This suggestion that it carries some sort of antisemitic tone, I would say, has absolutely no basis in the record that’s before the court, and it simply defies reality,” Mr. Martinez said.
He said there is not a “scintilla” of evidence to suggest the organizers of Al Quds had any connection to the recent shootings at synagogues in Toronto or the American consulate.
“Those events are deplorable, absolutely, but they are not a basis again to trample on the Charter.”
After the ruling, Mr. Martinez told the Globe it’s a “good day for freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in Canada.”
He added that it’s important for the Palestinian community to express its concerns about the state of the world.
With a report from Aleysha Haniff in Toronto and The Canadian Press