Cancelled speech by Peace by Chocolate founder sparks resignation by legal group's incoming president

Shanifa Nasser · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 05, 2025 3:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

The incoming president of 1 of Canada's astir high-profile ineligible organizations has resigned amid an "existential crisis" astatine The Advocates' Society implicit its determination to cancel a Syrian Canadian entrepreneur and bid advocate's upcoming speech, aft immoderate members raised concerns implicit his views connected Gaza. 

Sheree Conlon was acceptable to measurement into the relation of president astatine the organization's upcoming end-of-term lawsuit successful Toronto this June. Instead, connected Saturday, she stepped down from the enforcement and committee of directors aft it cancelled Peace by Chocolate laminitis Tareq Hadhad's invitation to present the keynote code astatine the event.

The resignation comes 1 time aft TAS apologized for its handling of the decision, which prompted crisp disapproval from its members, with respective cancelling their memberships arsenic a result. The enactment did not accidental if it would see reversing course.

"I person ne'er agreed that TAS should person responded by cancelling Mr. Hadhad's invitation. I judge that by doing so, we abandoned our values and purposes, alternatively than promoting civility, respectful treatment and collegiality," Conlon wrote in her resignation letter, dated April 5.

"I besides knew we were holding Mr. Hadhad to a modular that we person not applied to different speakers, leaders and grant recipients," said the missive obtained by CBC News.

Conlon did not respond to a petition for comment. However, her website's nonrecreational profile, which antecedently said her word arsenic TAS president would commence successful 2025, present lists her arsenic a "past subordinate of the Board and Executive of The Advocates' Society."

'Immense pressure' to cancel speech

In her letter, Conlon, who would person been the organization's archetypal president from Atlantic Canada, said it was her connection to person Hadhad talk astatine the event. Hadhad and his household arrived arsenic refugees successful Conlon's location state of Nova Scotia successful 2015 amid the warfare successful his autochthonal Syria and rapidly made headlines for his entrepreneurship and connection of anticipation successful creating his family's cocoa business.

"Their communicative is 1 of perseverance and hope, which celebrates the joys and challenges of gathering a beingness successful agrarian Nova Scotia," she said.

WATCH | Peace by Chocolate laminitis gets Canadian citizenship: 

Almost instantly aft announcing Hadhad arsenic the keynote connected March 10, Conlon's missive says, "We began to person messages from immoderate Jewish lawyers that helium was not an due talker due to the fact that of posts helium has made connected societal media regarding Gaza."

"We heard that TAS would suffer memberships, sponsorships, attendance astatine [the event] and that determination whitethorn beryllium protests astatine the lawsuit itself … As you know, Executive members faced immense unit to cancel Mr. Hadhad's appearance, and bash truthful quickly," Conlon wrote.

Lawyer Jonathan Lisus was among those who wrote to the enactment to emblem what helium described arsenic Hadhad's "one-sided view" of the conflict, noting Hadhad did not look to person posted successful solidarity with the Israeli victims of Hamas's Oct. 7 onslaught oregon the hostages taken that day.

"Sadly, Mr. Hadhad's grounds of nationalist statements makes a beardown lawsuit that portion expressing understandable interest for civilian deaths successful Gaza helium is unsympathetic, and surely indifferent, to the harm and suffering of Jewish radical and the Jewish state," helium wrote successful a missive dated March 15.

The Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association (CMLA) antecedently told CBC News that TAS told it the concerns stemmed from complaints astir Hadhad's usage of the word "genocide" connected societal media, adding helium had not provided what they deemed "equal comment" connected different impacted groups. TAS would not corroborate those details to CBC News.

Hadhad antecedently told CBC News successful a connection helium intended to talk "solely connected the values that unite."

"I was going to talk connected the dignity of each quality being and gathering inclusive communities," helium said. "I volition proceed to usage my dependable to advocator for quality rights and the content that each idiosyncratic deserves to unrecorded successful bid and with respect.

'Signaling to racialized lawyers that their voices bash not belong'

Conlon added that she values the idiosyncratic experiences and accounts of members who expressed that the prime of talker would origin them "harm and exclusion," but said she felt the enactment could person recovered a way guardant without cancelling Hadhad's invitation. 

"My deepest idiosyncratic struggle came from knowing we were signaling to racialized lawyers that their voices bash not beryllium astatine TAS," she wrote. "By silencing a Muslim man's dependable for expressing an sentiment that is often shared and expressed successful the Canadian mainstream, they told maine they besides felt silenced by our decision, and not a invited portion of our enactment oregon profession."

Conlon said that arsenic incoming president, she knew she would beryllium asked to explicate oregon warrant a determination "not aligned" with her ain morals and values, which she believed she shared with TAS.

"That was intolerable for maine to do."

The missive goes connected to telephone connected TAS to cancel its upcoming event, make an adjacent argumentation connected speakers and publically admit that its determination departed from its halfway values.

CBC News has contacted TAS for absorption to Conlon's letter.

Calls for alteration astatine the top

As antecedently reported, the enactment issued an apology Friday pursuing the "profound reactions" surrounding its decision. 

"Our members person expressed heavy concerns with the mode our decisions were made, the ground for them and with the deficiency of divers consultation successful our deliberations," it said successful a connection Friday.

"We perceive you. We are atrocious and regret the harm we person caused," TAS said, adding "through these decisions and related communications we person not afloat lived up to our ngo and halfway values."

In a connection to CBC News, lawyer Muneeza Sheikh, who was among those raising alarm bells implicit the determination to cancel Hadhad's invitation, said Conlon's resignation was "demonstrative of the heavy vexation and gross disappointment that has been felt by truthful galore lawyers successful the past 2 years particularly."

She's present calling connected the enactment to cancel its lawsuit and for the enforcement committee to resign.

"The Advocates' Society silenced Mr. Hadhad and successful doing truthful eroded the integrity of the law. As lawyers, we are expected to beryllium unsighted to race, religion, and politics," she said. 

"We person mislaid each trust. The Advocates' Society needs to enactment successful the hard enactment to reclaim its individuality arsenic an enactment escaped of the worst benignant of bias."

The Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association meantime is calling for an outer reappraisal of the process and a alteration successful enactment astatine TAS. 

"It is wide that the committee and enforcement person mislaid the assurance of the rank and the public, and their actions hazard bringing the assemblage into disrepute," said CMLA seat Husein Panju.

"What makes this lawsuit peculiarly achy is that the silencing is coming from an enactment that claims to basal for civilian liberties."