In an Instagram post, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he no longer recognizes Canada. He said he is disgusted and appalled by the open hatred and violence running rampant in our streets in the days before a planned Al-Quds protest at the U.S. consulate in Toronto
He instructed Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey to issue an injunction to stop the March 14 march.
But an Ontario court judge denied the injunction.
"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," Superior Court Justice Robert Centa ruled.
Justice Centa said there was no evidence of hate speech or criminal incidents "arising out of last year’s Al-Quds rally in Toronto, or at the rallies in any of the prior 30 years."
According to police, there were two arrests in two separate incidents, including one when a counter-protester attacked a man holding an Iranian flag.
The day was relatively peaceful, aside from two arrests, as the two opposing groups kept to their respective sides of the street. However, people were swearing, flinging the bird at one another and playing antagonistic music.
Police lined University Avenue and had closed the street from Dundas to Queen Streets. Behind the police front lines were police on horseback, ready for any eruption of violence.
People were held back by metal barricades on the east side of University Avenue. Those celebrating Al-Quds Day were on the south sidewalk on Armoury St, and the counter-protesters were on the north side of Armoury.
Javad Soleimani, who has come to many Al-Quds Day events over the years, said this one was significant because of the Israeli-U.S. war in Iran.
He said Al-Quds Day is celebrated on the last days of Ramadan and that it was important for all Muslims to come out to support Iran and Palestine together.
"I condemned the warmongers in the White House and Israel," he said.
People were pushed up against their respective metal barriers and yelled at each other across Armoury Street, while others turned inward toward the planned event, where they were coming together to pray, sing and chant.
It was Mohamed Aden’s first time at Al-Quds Day. He said he decided to come out after seeing a social media post and wanted to support Palestine. He said everything seemed peaceful.
“The U.S. invasion of Iran is not right, of course, I don't want to say anything anti-Semitic," Aden said.
People were carrying signs depicting photos of the recently killed Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
Other signs had the words “Brick by brick, wall by wall, Apartheid has to fall. Boycott Israel Al-Quds Toronto.”
Another sign read “Epstein’s dirty class hands off Iran.”
Ronnie, an anti-American protester who did not want to share his last name, was up close to the barricades on Armoury Street. He said the counter-protesters are bloodthirsty.
“I just think it's disgusting how American imperialism is touching all of our lives,” he said. “If you still feel the need to defend the systems that are killing their own people, their own children, their friends, their family - misguided, but completely disgusting in my opinion.”
Sophia Matin, an Iranian Canadian, was draped in a half U.S. flag and half Israeli flag. She said she was there to support her people in Iran and to thank the Israeli people.
"War is never good, but for this regime that has been in power for 47 years, there's no other way to deal with them,” she said.
Matin said the Iranian people will be ready for change when the war ends, and that the only person they trust to lead is the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran.
People were carrying signs holding up a picture of Reza Pahlavi.
Jason Daniel Baker wore an Israeli hockey jersey and stood near the metal barricades on the north side of Armoury Street.
“I'm here to get terrorism out of Canada, to get Muslim extremism out of Canada,” he said.
He said he supports the wars against terror, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas while envisioning a good outcome.
"I think finally Persia, Iran, is going to realize its potential and become a world leader, just as it was before Islam took over,” Baker said.
Bliss Darush was draped in a flag that once represented the secret service during the Shah’s regime.
He said the flag with the Lion and Sun is the original Persian flag and the real Iranian flag.
He said the very foundational idea of Al-Quds Day came from Khamenei in a bid to torment Jewish people globally.
He said Iranians are tolerant and kind people, but that they allowed, to Iran’s detriment, “these Muslims to come in and make rules and change the laws one after another.”
“They just killed 50,000 of our own Iranian people inside Iran,” Darush said. “They've been killing people, torturing people, raping people.”
Darush said he was there to stand in front of people who represent terrorism.
“Whatever you do, you cannot stand on the wrong side of history,” he said. “Do not be complacent, Canada.”
On one side of the street, people were chanting “Free, free Palestine,” while on the other side, people were cheering and dancing to blaring electronic music with the lyric “Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei is dead, dead, dead.”
When the court denied Ford’s injunction, he posted on X that he was extremely disappointed because Al-Quds Day has long been a venue for antisemitism, hatred, intimidation and the glorification of terrorism.
Darush was optimistic as he stood among supporters of the U.S. and Israeli invasion of Iran.
“We’re going to bring freedom to Iran,” he said.
