Protesters clash with mayor over MAGA musician's Saskatoon worship concert
City granted permit for Sean Feucht's August concert in Diefenbaker Park
A crowd outside Saskatoon city hall protesting a controversial U.S. singer's upcoming concert confronted Mayor Cynthia Block Friday and shouted insults when she tried speaking with them.
The heated exchange at the afternoon protest matched the intense debate around the Canadian tour of Sean Feucht, an American Christian music performer known for his affiliation with the MAGA, or "Make America Great Again," movement.
His Revive '25 tour, which has seen cancellations in some other Canadian cities, is scheduled to stop in Saskatoon on Aug. 21, and was granted a permit by the City of Saskatoon to play in Diefenbaker Park.
Protesters say they don't want Feucht performing in a public park because of his past anti-2SLGBTQ+ comments.
"If we put him in a public park, we're sending a message that the city approves," protester Margi Corbett told CBC.
"He can go and play in a church. It's a church service. He used those words himself," said Corbett. "I believe churches have the right to have their own freedom of expression."
Communities in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba have already denied or revoked concert permits for Feucht's tour, with some citing safety concerns.
Protesters in Saskatoon also called for the city to revoke the permit based on public safety.
A Saskatoon Police Service spokesperson said police did not find any security issues during a risk assessment of the event, but are monitoring developments.
But some protesters still don't think the event can be considered safe.
"Perhaps it can be physically safe, but that doesn't mean it's psychologically safe for people who are being called demonic in public," said Corbett.
"That's not safe, especially when they're already vulnerable people."
Event wouldn't go forward 'if I had my choice': mayor
When Block got up to speak at Friday's protest, some in the crowd called her names and told her to leave, while others said they should let her speak.
"If I had my choice, this would not go forward," Block said when the crowd quieted down.
She told a story about a childhood friend who died by suicide.
"He never had a chance to come out," Block said.
"It was the 1980s in rural Saskatchewan, where homophobia was not just accepted, it was expected. That moment changed my worldview," the mayor said. "Never again would I be silent in the face of someone being dehumanized for just being who they are."
Block said she will introduce a motion about the city's permitting process at next week's council meeting.
Fran Forsberg, who helped organize the protest, said she has kids who are transgender and doesn't want Feucht performing in a public park.
"When we stand around and do nothing when something like this happens, we are complicit," she said.
Feucht and his team did not reply to a request for an interview.
Freedom of expression
One legal expert says the city likely has to let the concert go ahead, or risk going to court if it denies a permit "without a good reason."
Feucht would have a legal right to take the decision to court, said Dwight Newman, a constitutional law professor at the University of Saskatchewan.
"Some constitutional rights are just for citizens, some constitutional rights are for everyone, and freedom of expression does cover everyone," Newman said.
"And so even as an American citizen, he would be able to bring a claim for a breach of his rights in Canada."
Authorities must also consider the constitutional rights of people who want to attend the concert, Newman said.
"Freedom of expression protects not just the person expressing, but also the people listening to the expression, and so those who want to go to that thing probably would have constitutional claims as well if there were any legal interference with it," he said.
The bar for criminal hate speech and incitement is very high. Feucht could be prosecuted if he does cross the line while on stage, but past comments don't predict the future, Newman said.
"We are very reluctant to restrain expression in advance on the possibility that someone might say something illegal, or we could go around restricting everyone all the time," said Newman.
"It's like the movie Minority Report and predicting crime. We just can't really do that and still have a free society."
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With files from Aishwarya Dudha