BREAKING: Conference facility caves to pressure from Islamic groups, bans Mark Steyn from speaking
Venue cancellations? Threats of violence and security forces unwilling or unable to protect speakers and the public who wish to hear them speak?
This has a familiar ring . . .
UPDATE: London Convention Centre Contact Information can be found here.
Strictly Right sent out a press release earlier today to Canadian media with some rather startling news about the upcoming Mark Steyn speech in London, Ontario that we’re putting together. Mark Steyn will be speaking on November 1st in a speech entitled “Head for the Hills: Why everything in your world is doomed.” Apparently, London-area Muslims didn’t like that idea too much.
Due to capacity constraints at the University of Western Ontario, the original venue for the event, we had booked the London Convention Centre (LCC,) London’s premiere conference facility. On Tuesday, I received a phone call from the LCC telling us that our venue had been pulled, and that Mark Steyn would not be permitted to speak there. The reason offered by the LCC was that they had received pressure from local Islamic groups, and they didn’t want to alienate their Muslim clients. It’s interesting to note that the LCC is owned by the City of London, and is therefore a government operation.
It’s interesting that a government-run business decided that freedom of speech was no longer a concept to be upheld, and even more interesting is the fact that the Muslim community in London is applying pressure to a company to not entertain a speaker when only a day earlier they made a statement to the press saying that they didn’t care about Steyn speaking and wouldn’t do anything to counter it, (except “charity work.”)
The good news is that Steyn’s speech will still be going on as planned. Given the increasing demand, we’ve moved to an even bigger venue, and Mark will be speaking at Centennial Hall. You can find all the details on how to register here.
Due to the size of the new venue, there are inevitably added costs to this event that hadn’t previously been budgeted for. If you aren’t attending the speech, please consider donating via PayPal to offset costs.
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Original Press Release Below:
VENUE FOR MARK STEYN’S LONDON SPEECH CANCELLED
Conference facility caves to pressure from local Islamic leaders.
LONDON, ONT – Organizers of the upcoming speech by conservative bestselling author and radio broadcaster Mark Steyn were forced to relocate their event on Tuesday. The London Convention Centre (LCC) informed conservative new media network, Strictly Right Inc. that pressure from Muslim clients and local Islamic groups forced the cancellation. Steyn’s speech, originally scheduled to be held at the University of Western Ontario, was moved to the LCC due to capacity constraints.
Andrew Lawton, Ari Fine and Ryan Ruppert, the organizers of Steyn in Canada, note the irony of the cancellation, given that Steyn will be addressing the assault on freedom of speech. Additionally, the admitted ideological discrimination of the LCC is especially inappropriate, given that the LCC is owned by the City of London. Lawton, Fine and Ruppert all affirm that the speech will still go ahead as planned, having secured Centennial Hall for the November 1st speech.
Mark Steyn will be speaking on November 1st at Centennial Hall in a speech entitled “Head for the Hills: Why everything in your world is doomed.” Details about Steyn’s upcoming appearance can be found at http://www.strictlyright.com/marksteyn .
