TORONTO — Canada should allow British MP George Galloway to enter the country to speak at peace rallies in Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa and Montreal because “free expression is the matrix of every other freedom,” a lawyer for Galloway told a federal appeals court judge Sunday.

Galloway, who spoke in Washington, D.C., Sunday as part of a U.S. tour, is scheduled to speak at a church in Toronto Monday night. Ottawa says Galloway should be kept out on national-security grounds.

About 150 free-speech and antiwar advocates picketed outside a federal courtroom in Toronto in the rain and later packed the court for an unusual Sunday court hearing. Court officials scrambled to rig up a screen in an overflow room so all those present could hear the case.

Many of the supporters wore stickers on their shirts, which used the “C” of the federal Conservative party logo to spell the word “censored.”

“Mr. (Jason) Kenney (Canada’s minister of immigration) may well believe that they are acting legally, but he cannot quell speech,” Barbara Jackman, a prominent Toronto immigration lawyer, told the court. “This is legitimate political comment. This is not hate speech.” She asked the court to grant an injunction permitting Galloway to speak.

Justice Luc Martineau, who heard the case from his office in Ottawa via a video conference hook-up, promised a ruling by 2 p.m. ET Monday. The judge noted that as it stands, should Galloway show up at the border and ask for admission, “it would be an automatic detention.”

On March 20, Galloway received a letter from Robert Orr in the immigration section of the Canadian High Commission in London, denying him entry to Canada. The letter said Ottawa believes Galloway is a member of a terrorist organization, Hamas, because Galloway brought a convoy of food aid to Gaza earlier this year.

But the MP’s lawyer suggested that his was a humanitarian mission. “Gaza was under siege, they were very much in need of aid,” Jackman told the judge. And she noted that Israeli officials had let the MP into Gaza.

Stephen Gold, a federal lawyer, told the judge that, notwithstanding the government’s letter, no one has barred Galloway from Canada yet, and therefore, the court cannot over-rule a determination that has not yet been made. Only after a border guard refused Galloway entry could he seek remedy from the court, Gold said.

“The designated power resides in the (Canada Border Services Agency) officer, notwithstanding that there was a preliminary assessment done,” Gold said.

Martineau said the government’s case in keeping Galloway out is weakened because, “I am relying on pure hearsay evidence” that Galloway in fact brought aid to Gaza. “I have no firsthand affidavit evidence on the allegations that have been levelled,” he said.

“Has there been any evidence or ruling or determination of the nature . . . which make it a concluding finding of fact that the applicant has been engaged in terrorism?” he asked Gold. “All the evidence that I have, including yours, is mostly hearsay.”

“It cannot be said that a serious issue arises when the decision hasn’t been made,” Gold replied.

“Free speech is a cornerstone of democracy,” said Olivia Chow, the New Democrat MP. “Because you don’t like what Mr. Galloway is going to talk about is not a reason to keep him out.”

All three Opposition leaders in Ottawa have rallied to the MP’s defence, and James Clark, who invited Galloway on behalf of the Toronto Coalition to stop the war, noted that the government’s attempts to keep Galloway out have brought the outspoken MP huge publicity and some unusual allies, including Conrad Black, the former newspaper baron who is in a U.S. jail.

Black argued for Galloway’s right to enter Canada in the National Post on Saturday, and wrote in the U.K. newspaper the Guardian that, “Mr. Galloway and I are brothers, whether he likes it or I like it. I strongly support his right to express his mistaken opinions in Canada or anywhere else.”

Galloway plans to make his four Canadian speeches via telephone from a studio in New York City if his legal bid to gain entry is unsuccessful.

“We will not let the government silence us,” he said.

National Post

pkuitenbrouwer@nationalpost.com