The controversy continued into the orchestra's 1952-1953 season. The six musicians appealed again to the TSO board and the Toronto Musicians' Association, but made no headway. The musicians also held meetings with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Toronto Board of Control, and pleaded their case to the Mayor of Toronto, Allan A. Lamport, and the American Federation of Musicians, without success. While the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Canada Council for the Arts supported the six musicians, the Canadian Congress of Labour rejected a proposal to back them. In 1952 then-Canadian foreign minister Lester Pearson was quoted as saying that it would not "serve any useful purpose to take the matter up again". Pearson blamed the Cold War for such incidents, and added that the Canadian government was also denying entries to people wishing to attend communist meetings and was providing US officials with "security information". A special committee was set up by the TSO board to screen all its members.