Many Toronto residents are furious this week after learning that a prominent neo-Nazi group was allowed to book a public space at Richview Library in the city's west end. The event was a memorial held for the recently deceased Barbara Kulaszka, a lawyer who defended a number of prominent Holocaust deniers throughout the years. Kulaszka had passed away last month at 64 years of age, but news of her death was made public just yesterday.
Despite the public outcry and a call for cancelation from Mayor John Tory, executives at the Toronto Public Library refused to stop today's service. As journalist Evan Balgord from the Torontoistpointed out earlier this week, several groups reached out to the library system and voiced their concern and displeasure with the booking. White supremacists who attended the memorial today in Etobicoke cited their right to free speech, and claimed that they too should be able to book the library space.
Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs vice president, Sara Lefton, spoke to the Torontoist yesterday and expressed great hurt and disappointment regarding the matter. “We firmly support free speech, but that doesn’t mean that publicly funded institutions such as libraries are obliged to provide a pulpit for white nationalists to promote their hateful agenda," said Lefton. "CIJA is voicing our strong opposition with the library, mayor’s office, and City Council."
Tensions were high on Wednesday morning, as members of racist groups made their way to pay respects for the late Kulaszka. The aforementioned lawyer claimed to be a proponent of free speech, but as the Toronto Sun points out, she was often criticized for sympathizing with her clients. Reports from the National Post also state that Kulaszka worked against trying any Nazis in Canada for war crimes, and is responsible for allowing hate speech and false news to pollute the internet.
Marc Lemire and Paul Fromm, two of the country's most notorious white nationalists, were slated to participate in the Richview event. Fromm is known to have hosted radio programs on Stormfront, the racist website associated with the American KKK and its former leader, David Duke. Even with these figures in attendance, the Toronto Public Library released a statement supporting its decision to allow the event. "We do not tolerate hate speech. However, we cannot deny bookings from the community that are in accordance with the law and the library's policy and rules of conduct," library officials stated.
The memorial and its far-right participants were given the green light this week, but many are calling on the city to review its room rental policies.
