It’s probably not very helpful to the United Conservative Party effort to hang onto power by its fingernails that party founder and former premier Jason Kenney found himself back in the news yesterday, his effort to mount a novel Hyperlink Defence against a defamation lawsuit by five environmental organizations as
Continue readingTag: Defamation Law
Alberta Politics: On Monday Danielle Smith quoted government lawyers; now Alberta’s premier says the UCP is paying for her to sue the CBC
Can you imagine the almighty hoo-ha that would break out across this country if the Alberta NDP ponied up the dough for its leader to sue Postmedia or the Western Standard for defamation? Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Don’t worry. It’s not going to happen. And
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta premier hides behind lawsuit that hasn’t happened to dodge reporters’ difficult questions
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith hid behind a lawsuit that doesn’t exist yesterday to avoid answering reporters’ questions about her sympathetic telephone chat with an unsavoury political ally facing criminal charges. Premier Smith’s controversial telephonic interlocutor, Artur Pawlowski (Photo: Facebook/Artur Pawlowski). If this gambit proves anything, I suppose, it’s that there’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith accuses CBC of defaming her, her staff, Crown prosecutors, and the whole public service
Premier Danielle Smith published a statement yesterday accusing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and journalists in its employ of publishing “a defamatory article” with the intent “to smear the reputations of the Premier, her office staff, Alberta Crown prosecutors and the Alberta Public Service.” Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Conservative political activist Craig Chandler files defamation lawsuit against political scientist Duane Bratt
Calgary conservative political activist Craig B. Chandler indicated on social media Wednesday he is suing Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt for defamation. Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Mr. Chandler published an image of the first page of his Statement of Claim,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney offers a grab-bag of defences, some unusual, against five environmental groups’ defamation lawsuit
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has filed his statement of defence in response to a defamation lawsuit by five environmental organizations, offering a grab-bag of defences for the comments that sparked the dispute. Among them, Mr. Kenney argues that by not specifically naming the groups he attacked in his social media
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Five environmental groups file statement of claim in defamation suit against Jason Kenney
After giving Jason Kenney more than two months to apologize for or retract his claims they spread false information about Alberta’s fossil fuel industry, five environmental groups followed through yesterday on their threat to sue Alberta’s premier and the provincial government for defamation. In a statement of claim filed with
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta premier’s lawyers to eight environmental groups: You’ll have our answer soon to your demand for an apology
If Jason Kenney’s lawyers give him sensible advice, they’ll tell him to seek a compromise with the coalition of eight environmental groups that threatened last month to sue him if he doesn’t retract and apologize for statements they say defame them. That could save Alberta’s premier a lot of grief
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Could history repeat itself and leave Alberta taxpayers on the hook for Jason Kenney’s legal defence against defamation suit?
Two decades ago, Alberta taxpayers found themselves on the hook for more than $730,000 to settle a defamation suit against Stockwell Day, who had been an MLA when he wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper in Red Deer that damaged the reputation of a lawyer in that
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Environmental groups tell Jason Kenney to apologize and retract by next Tuesday or meet them in court
A coalition of Canadian environmental groups has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging Premier Jason Kenney to a legal duel over his serial claims his government’s so-called “Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns” proves they spread misinformation about Alberta’s fossil fuel industry. Rather than using epees or sabres in mortal combat,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP leadership campaign reveals ‘how an aggressive campaign could hijack online votes,’ U.S. journalist writes
Digital-election-theft allegations swirling around the 2017 United Conservative Party leadership campaign should be a sharp warning for the U.S. Democratic Party, which plans to use similar technology in some of its 2020 presidential primary races, says an American journalist who specializes in covering election technology and democratic issues. While a
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Was the Senate report on ‘countering’ the threat of terrorism intended to incite hatred for political gain?
PHOTOS: Conservative members of the Senate of Canada answer questions about their “interim report” on countering terrorist threats to Canada. Actual Conservative Senators may not appear exactly as illustrated – but close enough, unfortunately. Below: Liberal senator Grant Mitchell of Alberta, who dissented from the report; former British MP George
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