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An Ontario Superior Court justice has ruled that the Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto may continue as planned Saturday afternoon.
The decision comes after Ontario Premier Doug Ford asked the attorney general Friday to seek an injunction against the demonstration, calling it a “breeding ground for hate and antisemitism” in a post on social media.
A superior court hearing was held at noon Saturday with lawyers representing the attorney general and the Al-Quds Day committee. The justice said he would share more details on his decision later in the day.
The rally is taking place Saturday outside the U.S. consulate.
Al-Quds Day has been described by Toronto organizers as a show of support for Palestine. Social media posts promoting the event say demonstrators will also be calling for “no war in Iran and Lebanon.”
In a post to social media Saturday afternoon, Ford said he was “extremely disappointed” with the court’s decision.
“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,” he said. “We need to be clear that no one in Canada has the right to incite violence or free licence to intimidate and hate.”
The premier added the event has long been “a venue for antisemitism, hatred, intimidation and the glorification of terrorism.”
“I won’t stop working to put an end to the hatred and division that runs too rampant on Canada’s streets,” Ford said. “I won’t stop working to protect the greatest province in the greatest country in the world.”
Toronto police said Thursday they planned to increase their presence in the area of the rally.
They said approximately 3,000 people are anticipated to attend, but that number could be higher given recent tensions in the Middle East and local communities.
Ford’s injunction bid came following heightened unease in the Greater Toronto Area after shots were fired at three synagogues and the U.S. consulate in the past two weeks.
Civil liberty groups have called the province’s move an extraordinary and dangerous step to curtail rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.
Meanwhile the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs applauded the province’s move for an injunction Friday, saying the rally is “a platform for extremist rhetoric, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and support for terrorist organizations.”
Al-Quds, taken from the Arabic word for Jerusalem, has been a magnet for controversy in part because of it was popularized in Iran after the 1979 revolution. The event is held typically on the last Friday of Ramadan.
One of Ford’s first promises as premier in 2018 was an outright ban on the protest.
The British government, after a request from police, banned the Al-Quds Day march in London this year.
