A trio of bloggers who run the site StrictlyRight.com inquired on Monday about booking a Nov. 1 speech for Mr. Steyn at the London Convention Centre. The group announced on Thursday that it had received a phone call from the centre saying it would not be allowed to make the booking. The Convention Centre said it was a business decision, but organizers of the speech said they were told otherwise.
“The reason offered by the LCC [in a Tuesday morning phone call] 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,” wrote Strictly Right’s Andrew Lawton at the website.
The Monday they are referring to is October 18th; Tuesday is October 19th; and Thursday is the 21st.
Also, my Michael Coren debating buddy Andrew Lawton tells the Voice of Canada that Strictly Right first contacted the LCC on Thursday, Oct 14, 2010. Now, there are no posts on SR between October 14th and the 19th that mention the LCC as their new venue. In fact a post on the 18th shows an image of a Mark Steyn t-shirt with the venue still listed as the University of Western Ontario. Which makes sense, because we also know that the lads from SR only received the "client profile" document from the LCC on the evening of the 18th, and were never able to fill it out before next morning when they got word their booking had been rejected.
So how did these "local Islamic groups" noted above find out about the venue change and know who to pressure? I don't see how they could have.
And I would just point out how much difficulty Canadian Conservatives typically experience when they attempt to rent a room. It seems beyond their capabilities.
