Toronto library reviewing policies after controversial event sparks outrage

Many also complained to Toronto Mayor John Tory, who said he received many calls about the controversial gathering and was also “deeply concerned.”

The mayor asked for the event to be cancelled, but was told the library was advised by its lawyer that it could not refuse the booking, he said in a statement.

The Toronto Public Library said it did not endorse the gathering but could not reject it so long as nothing illegal occurred.

“We did have staff monitoring the event, and nothing took place that contravened our rules of conduct,” it said Thursday. “We will be debriefing on this event and also reviewing our policy.”

While it’s unlikely the library would have been legally liable if it had refused the booking, it did well to err on the side of free speech, said Wayne Sumner, a University of Toronto professor emeritus specializing in ethics and freedom of expression.

Barring such events “raises disturbing possibilities of picking and choosing among points of view and what sort of speech is allowed and what sort of speech is not,” he said.

“It’s not the library’s business to decide beforehand what people are going to say and even on the occasion it’s not the library’s business to pursue it if it is hate speech, because that does become a police matter.”

Sumner said similar debates pop up consistently at universities, which are also public institutions that rent out space to the public.

“These are really difficult issues for public institutions and I can understand why people find it offensive that they would host an event like this,” he said.

Organizers of the event could not immediately be reached.

Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Toronto library reviewing policies after controversial event sparks outrage

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