FJAG
Army.ca Legend
- Reaction score
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Cloud Cover said:Another good one from Macleans: https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/why-did-jody-wilson-raybould-have-to-go-because-white-nationalists/
Yes, indeed.
:cheers:
Cloud Cover said:Another good one from Macleans: https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/why-did-jody-wilson-raybould-have-to-go-because-white-nationalists/
. Who can say what the next Liberal move will be? They are acting so irrationally lately, that they are so much smarter than the Conservatives or they are totally out in left field.Jarnhamar said:Team Trudeau would have expected Team Scheer to immediately run to the media to tell them about the libel suit which begs the question what's the Liberals true intention behind this move.
Cloud Cover said:The discovery process for a libel suit need not be as complex as other forms of civil lawsuits. The process is designed to be somewhat expeditious. That being said....
"…An individual’s reputation is not to be treated as regrettable but unavoidable road kill on the highway of public controversy, but nor should an overly solicitous regard for personal reputation be permitted to “chill” freewheeling debate on matters of public interest…"
In addition to the public interest defence available to the leader of the opposition, there is also the defence of honest belief, and I'm not sure that they could be so successful on that one:
"Honest belief”, of course, requires the existence of a nexus or relationship between the comment and the underlying facts .... “could any man honestly express that opinion on the proved facts”
Further:
"...The test is not whether the words impute negative qualities to the plaintiff, but whether, in the factual circumstances of the case, the public would think less of the plaintiff as a result of the comment. Relevant factors to be considered in assessing whether a statement is defamatory include: whether the impugned speech is a statement of opinion rather than of fact; how much is publicly known about the plaintiff; the nature of the audience; and the context of the comment. "
The context here is, of course, politics alleging a criminal act by the Prime Minister and characterizing it de facto rather than opinion. Not a wise move....
Cloud Cover said:there is also the defence of honest belief, and I'm not sure that they could be so successful on that one:
"Honest belief”, of course, requires the existence of a nexus or relationship between the comment and the underlying facts .... “could any man honestly express that opinion on the proved facts”
Haggis said:The way I understand it so far, the suit would be by Trudeau personally against Scheer personally for comments Scheer made on social media and outside the house where he is not protected by Parliamentary privilege. It is, quite obviously, a SLAPP suit aimed at muzzling Scheer outside of the house and in front of the media. I would expect similar threats to be made against others such as Bergen, Rempel and Polivere.
SeaKingTacco said:I get that, but think of the optics, particularly in an election year. Trudeau, with his personal fortune up in the millions is going after (essentially) a middle class man with an opinion (Scheer).
It may not directly involve the Liberal and Conservative Parties, but who do think comes out of this looking like an underdog and who comes out looking desperate, petty and entitled, regardless of the legal outcome? Plus, this stays in the news cycle. I still contend that Scheer can go on the BBQ circuit this summer and easily fund raise his legal fees. Even people who would not normally vote Conservative probably would contribute to a Scheer legal defence fund, just to see Trudeau hammered for trying to silence the leader of the Opposition.
This is another disaster in the making for the Liberals.
:nod:SeaKingTacco said:... who do think comes out of this looking like an underdog and who comes out looking desperate, petty and entitled, regardless of the legal outcome? Plus, this stays in the news cycle. I still contend that Scheer can go on the BBQ circuit this summer and easily fund raise his legal fees ...
Sometimes a dumb move is just a dumb move -- like the French guy reportedly said ...Jarnhamar said:Exactly. This seems like an amateur move and really too good to be true. I still think we have to be missing something.