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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has asked the provincial attorney general to seek an injunction against a planned Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto on Saturday.
“Hate, violence and intimidation have no place on the streets of Canada and our government will fight it however we can,” Ford said in a social media post Friday.
Two city councillors, James Pasternak and Brad Bradford, are also calling for an immediate injunction to stop the rally.
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 statement Friday, Pasternak and Bradford said they urged city solicitors to take legal action to stop the rally. They said they also want Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow to condemn the gathering.
In a social media post Friday, Bradford said the city failed to bring forward an application for an injunction Friday.
“Thank you for stepping up, Premier. I agree: public safety must come first,” Bradford said.
Ford’s comment comes after Toronto police said Thursday they plan to increase their presence in the area of the rally, which is set to begin at 3 p.m. outside the U.S. consulate, located on University Avenue north of Queen Street W.
Emergency management Supt. Craig Young has said police initially anticipated 3,000 people to attend the demonstration but the number could be higher given recent geopolitical tensions.
Young said the rally comes amid heightened unease and fears of violence in the city after shots were fired at three synagogues and the U.S. consulate in the past two weeks
Anyone who engages in violence or obstructs police “can expect that the law will be enforced swiftly and decisively,” Young added.
“We are asking everyone who plans to attend, whether they are participating in the event or protesting it, to do so lawfully and respectfully,” Young said.
Al-Quds Day, usually observed on the last Friday of Ramadan, was initiated by Iran in 1979.
The rally and annual walk for Palestinian people this year in Toronto is organized by the Al Quds Committee with the help of the Palestinian Youth Movement, according to the committee’s Instagram account.
