Toronto concerts scheduled for last Friday (September 28) and this Friday (October 6) featuring Sizzla and Elephant Man respectively have been cancelled amidst protests over each artists perceived anti-gay lyrics.

The Toronto Star reports the cancellations follow outcries from a coalition of some 20 organizations known as Stop Murder Music Canada, who pushed to have Sizzla and Elephant Man banned from entering the country, citing their music as hate propaganda.

"They shouldn't have been allowed to get visas to perform in the country," Stop Murder Music founder Akim Larcher told the Star. "It's not about censorship or artistic freedom. That stops when hate propaganda is involved."

Prior to the cancellations, police had already said they would have a presence at each concert listening for hate speech.

"The record companies have supported these artists and they have a responsibility not to release those tracks anymore and to remove their CDs from shelves," Larcher said. "They need to be aware to make sufficient steps that their songs does cause harm in society. We're calling for a Canada-wide boycott of those artists to take the necessary steps to renounce violence against gays and lesbians."

At the time of the cancellation, ticket sales for Elephant Man's performance were poor, with only one-third of tickets sold.