Christian group banned from Yonge Dundas Square to appeal decision
Posted December 10, 2015 1:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Christian group that was banned from Yonge-Dundas Square will appeal the decision Thursday at City Hall.
Voices of the Nations (VOTN) will appear before the square’s management board at 2 p.m.
The group argues they were banned from the Square because of their Christian beliefs, and because their group sings about Jesus.
Councillor and Yonge-Dundas Square board member Kristyn Wong-Tam said last month that the group’s permit was pulled because they broke rules about proselytizing.
“To us, it’s not proselytizing, it’s celebrating our beliefs. It’s a human rights issue,” VOTN member Peter Ruparelia told CityNews.
“That’s baseless,” Wong-Tam countered, saying the square’s board is not anti-Christian. In fact, they’ve allowed VOTN to hold a music festival at the Square for the past five years, and has rented to the Yonge Street Mission for their Easter festival
“Organizers know exactly why we’re asking them to not come back to the square. This has been clearly documented.”
She would not elaborate, but did say VOTN had been warned twice about their behaviour.
VOTN did not receive a permit for this year’s performance.
