Canadian legal group cancels upcoming event after uproar over disinviting Syrian Canadian entrepreneur

A Canadian legal association under fire for cancelling a Syrian Canadian entrepreneur's upcoming speech over his stance on Gaza says it will cancel the event altogether.

The Advocates' Society said a statement Thursday that it "faced a moment where our leaders were tested in the application of our core values, and in that moment TAS fell short."

"We sincerely apologize to all our members who have been made to feel unwelcome by the decisions we made surrounding the End of Term Dinner," it said.

"Our decisions are especially problematic where Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic racism are a reality and where the impacts of global conflicts are felt intensely by our members here in Canada."

The move comes after mounting calls for the organization to cancel its upcoming event in June, where Tareq Hadhad was set to speak, with many members ending their memberships over what they saw as an encroachment on diverse thought and freedom of speech. 

At least two high-ranking members of the organization resigned over the decision earlier this week: Sheree Conlon, who was set to be the group's incoming president, and Sheila Gibb, its treasurer.

Both said Hadhad was unfairly being held to a standard that others were not after complaints were filed to TAS over his characterization online of Israel's actions in Gaza as a genocide, without apparent condemnation of Hamas or postings on hostages taken after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

In its statement, TAS said it "commits to ensuring that its policies and decisions protect its members and staff. TAS must be a safe, respectful and welcoming environment for everyone."

In reaction to the news, the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association, which first raised alarm bells over the group's decision late last month, said the decision to cancel the event was the "responsible course of action."

"However, it is difficult to congratulate TAS for simply undoing an error of their own making. The invitation should never have been revoked," said CMLA chair Husein Panju.

"This incident also confirms our members' experience that racialized communities continue to face systemic barriers and double standards, particularly when they speak out on issues of social justice. Those who advocate for Palestinian lives, in particular, are being silenced in ways that others are not," Panju said.

Lawyer Muneeza Sheikh was also among those calling for the event to be cancelled.

"The Advocates' Society did the right thing, admittedly on the heels of doing the wrong thing," she said Thursday.

"This process has made it clear to us that several senior level lawyers within the Society were not consulted with respect to Mr. Hadhad's removal as the keynote. That is problematic and requires a serious probe into the issue," Sheikh said.