When the city of Toronto in Canada banned the Christian group Voices of the Nation (VON) from holding its annual music festival next year because it played songs that praised Jesus, the group immediately spearheaded a 30,000-name petition to Mayor John Tory's office, demanding that the city reverse its decision.
According to Life Site News, the group also obtained a 10,000-signature petition from the website TheRebel.media. If the city refuses to revoke its ruling on its festival, VON has vowed to sue the city and the board for violating its Charter rights of freedom of religion and expression.
The issue all started when city official Natalie Belman, who is the manager of events for Yonge-Dundas Square (where the festival is held), refused to grant VON a permit to use the square for its annual music festival next year because she considered the singing during the multi-denominational event to be "proselytising," which she said is against city policy.
"If you're praising Jesus, 'praise the Lord,' and 'there's no God like Jehovah,' that type of thing, that's proselytising," she told VON event coordinator Leye Oyelami. "That is a big problem. That (kind of thing), from the stage, is not acceptable."
VON president Peter Ruparelia considers Belman's decision as a betrayal, especially since they have been holding the festival there for five years straight already. "And then all of a sudden they're saying we're proselytising because we spoke the name of Jehovah and Jesus," he said.
Ruparelia, together with three other VON members as well as LifeSiteNews managing director Steve Jalsevac and Rebel commentator Eitan Gilboord, delivered the petition to the mayor's director of communications, Amanda Galbraith.
"If I have to go all the way, even to the Supreme Court if necessary, we're going to do that," Ruparelia said, "because this is not about one... man or one organisation, it's about the name of – "
"Christ," his colleague Pastor Jude Diké interjected.
"The name of Christ," Ruparelia concurred. "And it's our beliefs. All we were doing was celebrating our beliefs. As Christians, you know, we've been sitting back for so long. We've been losing ground in the City of Toronto. That's why we need as Christians, we need to come together and to unite as one, and what better cause, now, than this cause...to unite the body of Christ," he said.
The mayor's office has yet to provide a response on the matter.
