Toronto police say they will
be in the audience when two Jamaican singers perform in the city and if
Elephant Man and Sizzla include music that has been deemed by civil rights
groups as homophobic the reggae artists could be charged under Canada's
promotion of hate law.
The two performers arrived in Canada last week and are slated to perform at several clubs.
The Canadian branch of Stop Murder Music, an international coalition that opposes homophobic reggae music, has called for the federal government to revoke the performer visas granted to Elephant Man and Sizzla.
But the government says it cannot refuse entry into Canada to the pair because they have not been charged with a hate crime in their native Jamaica.
The Canadian government said if either of the two singers perform homophobic music they could be deported
Elephant Man is scheduled to perform at the club Kool Haus tonight.
Sizzla will be at the same venue on October 5.
Kool Haus issued a statement saying that it would have cancelled the performances if it had known about the lyrics before signing a contract with the singer's agent.
Music by both singers advocates the beating and killing of gays.
Although both say they no longer perform the tunes, they are still available on CDs.
Under Canadian hate law it is illegal to promote hate toward any minority in speech or print.
The two performers arrived in Canada last week and are slated to perform at several clubs.
The Canadian branch of Stop Murder Music, an international coalition that opposes homophobic reggae music, has called for the federal government to revoke the performer visas granted to Elephant Man and Sizzla.
But the government says it cannot refuse entry into Canada to the pair because they have not been charged with a hate crime in their native Jamaica.
The Canadian government said if either of the two singers perform homophobic music they could be deported
Elephant Man is scheduled to perform at the club Kool Haus tonight.
Sizzla will be at the same venue on October 5.
Kool Haus issued a statement saying that it would have cancelled the performances if it had known about the lyrics before signing a contract with the singer's agent.
Music by both singers advocates the beating and killing of gays.
Although both say they no longer perform the tunes, they are still available on CDs.
Under Canadian hate law it is illegal to promote hate toward any minority in speech or print.
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