The unbiased Toronto MP is searching for $15 million in a defamation lawsuit towards the broadcaster
Posted: 6 hours in the past
Final replace: 5 hours in the past
An Ontario Superior Courtroom decide has discovered no documentary proof to help allegations made towards former Liberal MP Han Dong in a International Information sequence final 12 months.
The decide made the feedback as he rejected a request by Corus Leisure to dismiss Dong's lawsuit towards the information service, saying it was within the public curiosity to listen to the case.
“The problem of Mr. Dong's communications with the Chinese language is worthy of the liberty of expression of an open judicial system,” Choose Paul Perell stated in his ruling Wednesday.
The International Report early final 12 months cited unnamed sources and advised that Dong privately suggested a senior Chinese language diplomat to cease the discharge of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians held in arbitrary detention in China.
On account of the story, Dong's status and life in politics had been ruined, Perell stated in his judgment.
Dong left the Liberal caucus in March 2023 to take a seat as an unbiased. He stated he was searching for to clear his identify after these and different allegations of international interference emerged.
He has denied the allegations towards him and filed a lawsuit towards International, its mum or dad firm Corus and several other journalists simply weeks after the story broke.
“Whereas we’re disenchanted by the choice, we’re inspired by the popularity of international authorities interference as a matter of public curiosity in Justice Perell's choice,” Corus stated in a press release Thursday.
“Because the case stays earlier than the courts, we won’t remark additional right now.”
The choice raises issues about documentation
Wednesday's ruling expressed concern about what it described as a scarcity of documentation to help the investigation after the information report.
“The defendants haven’t any tangible and documentary affirmation of the data obtained from the confidential sources relating to the dialog between Dong and the Chinese language Consul Basic,” the ruling stated.
Perell discovered that the reporter who wrote the story didn’t see a transcript of the dialog between Dong and the diplomat and didn’t maintain all of the notes that had been used as a part of the reporting course of.
The ruling stated the notes the reporter took, based mostly on conversations with sources, contained no reference to Dong advising a Chinese language diplomat to “delay” or “cease” the discharge of the 2 males.
He ordered Corus to reimburse Dong for his authorized charges, arguing that Corus' software to dismiss the go well with amounted to an abuse of courtroom.
In a press release launched Thursday, Dong stated International ought to apologize and retract the report.
“Till they do, I’ll battle to clear my identify within the courts,” he stated.
International's story was a part of a wave of studies on international interference that became a serious political controversy. In response, the federal government appointed former governor-general David Johnston as a particular rapporteur to research allegations of international interference.
The decide famous that Johnston concluded that International's reporting on the matter was “false.”
A later ongoing federal inquiry into international interference in Canada's election additionally heard proof concerning the name between Dong and the Chinese language diplomat, however the fee has not launched any findings or conclusions about what occurred.