A Federal Court hearing to examine why British MP George Galloway was denied entry to Canada has been put on hold until Wednesday.

Galloway's lawyer, Barbara Jackman, suffered a foot injury before a hearing scheduled for Monday morning, which sparked the delay.

She was taken to hospital. It's unclear how the injury occurred.

The hearing is supposed to examine why Galloway, an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights and critic of the war in Afghanistan, was barred from entering Canada in March, 2009, ahead of a four-city Canadian speaking tour.

Protesters on both sides of the issue got into a shouting match outside the Toronto courthouse where the hearing was set to be held.

An alliance of peace groups chanting about free speech squared off against other groups that waved Canadian and Israeli flags and screamed: "Stop supporting terrorists."

James Clark was protesting as a member of the Defend Free Speech Campaign.

"This decision to ban George Galloway was political interference that has attempted to stifle discussion about what is happening in Gaza, what's happening in Afghanistan," he said.

"This could be a precedent-setting legal case that has an impact on whether or not the minister will continue to intervene in the free speech rights of Canadians like this in the future."

At the time, the government said the decision was made because of allegations that Galloway had financially supported Hamas, a group that Canada defines as a terrorist organization.

The Canada Border Services Agency said Galloway was not allowed into the country because he was involved with an aid convoy of clothing, medical supplies, relief money and vehicles to Hamas, the elected government in Gaza. The agency also said he had donated of three vehicles and $44,000 to Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.

On Monday, Galloway described the ban as an "entirely bogus construction by a very right-wing and fanatically pro-Israel Canadian government," during a talk-radio interview.

It "defies common sense and logic" that he is able to travel in the U.S. and can sit in the British Parliament but is unable to enter Canada.

The case sparked an uproar about freedom of speech, and led to questions about whether Kenney's office played a direct role in the decision.

Several internal emails leading up to the ban reveal that Kenney's office opposed his visit. The minister's spokesman, Alykhan Velshi, wrote that Kenney would not reverse the ban because of "the kind of things George Galloway advocates."

On CTV's Power Play, Tory MP Rick Dykstra denied that Kenney's office exercised any undue influence on the decision to keep the British MP out.

"This is the CBSA's responsibility," Dykstra said on CTV's Power Play. "At the end of the day, whether you're providing information, whether you're providing advice, whatever you may be doing. The CBSA has a final say."

Galloway has denied supporting terrorism. In comments he made recently to the Globe and Mail, he insisted that he didn't give money to Hamas. He said he gave it to the ministry of health in Gaza to pay the salaries of doctors and nurses who hadn't been paid.

He called it "a symbolic donation" and said he remained proud of it.

Galloway told the newspaper that he believed the real reason he was denied entry is because the Canadian government is afraid of his views on Afghanistan.

"The Canadian people know that the blood of their soldiers is being spent and the treasure of their treasury is being spent in a doomed enterprise," he said.

Barred from entering the country, Galloway was able to address Canadian supporters by video link about his opposition to the war in Afghanistan and his humanitarian support for people in Gaza.

His supporters tried and failed to win a last-minute emergency injunction to allow Galloway into Canada. Still, the Federal Court decided that the case was worthy of a full hearing.

With files from The Canadian Press