TORONTO – The Toronto Public Library says it is reviewing its policies after a gathering at a local branch to honour a lawyer who defended people associated with the white supremacy movement was met with widespread criticism.
An announcement for the event held Wednesday at the Richview branch described it as a memorial for Barbara Kulaszka, a lawyer whose clients included Marc Lemire, the leader of the now-disbanded white supremacy group Heritage Front.
READ MORE: Toronto library refuses to cancel controversial memorial despite requests from mayor, councillors
It also said Lemire and Paul Fromm, a former teacher whose ties to racist groups cost him his licence, were among those expected to speak at the event, which cost $10 to attend.
Toronto Mayor John Tory says he had initially asked for the event to be cancelled, but was told the library was advised by its lawyer that it could not refuse the booking.
Get breaking National news
Tory says he received many calls about the controversial gathering and is “deeply concerned.”
- Fishing fees increase as Saskatchewan introduces angling habitat certificate
- Okanagan Falls couple, both in health care, may need to move due to ‘tiny homes’ rules
- Saskatoon homicide trial closes with 3 guilty pleas in death of Jason Horse
- ‘Artemis II now bound for the moon’: Canadians gather to celebrate space launch
In a statement released this morning, the Toronto Public Library said it did not endorse the gathering but could not reject it.
“We did have staff monitoring the event, and nothing took place that contravened our rules of conduct,” it said. “We will be debriefing on this event and also reviewing our policy.”
Comments
Comments closed.
Due to the sensitive and/or legal subject matter of some of the content on globalnews.ca, we reserve the ability to disable comments from time to time.
Please see our Commenting Policy for more.