Former Alberta United Conservative Party candidate Caylan Ford (Calgary-Mountain View) has accepted an offer of $250,000 from Progress Alberta and Executive Director Duncan Kinney to settle a defamation lawsuit arising from publications during the 2019 election. In the weeks prior to the 2019 Alberta election, Ford said Progress Alberta and Kinney had published a series of false, inflammatory statements about her. “The defamation published by Progress Alberta and Mr. Kinney was the most serious kind,” said Ford’s lawyer Richard E. Harrison in a Friday press release.“It alleged Ms. Ford was hateful and dangerous.”The Alberta UCP saw Ford as a star candidate in the 2019 election, as she was recruited by former premier Jason Kenney to run in Calgary-Mountain View. .EXCLUSIVE: How a Conservative candidate worked with the NDP to bring down star UCP candidate.Canadian political operative Karim Jivraj destroyed her candidacy by planting false stories about her in Press Progress. Edited parts of private philosophical conversations involving her were given to Press Progress, with various people and organizations saying she was a white supremacist.She ended up resigning her candidacy to avoid becoming a distraction to the UCP’s campaign. The publications by Progress Alberta and Kinney referred to Ford as a white supremacist, hateful, racist, Islamophobic, and an extremist. These publications sought to draw an association between she and the Christchurch mosque shooter who had killed 50 people and misrepresented statements she had made in a private conversation to attribute to her views that she did not have.Following her resignation as a candidate, Ford appeared on former 770 CHQR host Danielle Smith’s radio show to defend herself against defamatory accusations. Progress Alberta launched a petition campaign against Smith, saying she offered a platform to a white supremacist and threatened to target her advertisers as retribution. Ford filed a $7.6 million defamation case in 2020 against 14 people and organizations, including Progress Alberta, the Toronto Star, the CBC, the NDP, and the Broadbent Institute. Counsel for Kinney and Progress Alberta offered to settle the case against them after a three-year discovery process. Litigation against the remaining defendants is ongoing.Harrison concluded by saying Progress Alberta’s and Kinney’s defamation “sought to punish a media organization for giving Ms. Ford a platform to respond to the false allegations levelled against her.”“While no amount of money can provide full restitution, this is an important step toward righting a grievous wrong,” said Harrison. Ford said in an interview with the Western Standard no monetary amount can provide full restitution in this case because she was not the only person harmed by the defamation. “I think that it was an injustice done to the people and the voters of Alberta,” she said. “I think that the defamation against me by these parties in particular was intended or had the effect of exacerbating pain and anguish and confusion in the Muslim community in Alberta because of their attempt to conflate me as a prominent UCP candidate with the Christchurch mosque shooter who had just killed 50 people.” Unfortunately, she said this settlement does not provide any restitution for other people who were harmed. She added it “is an important first step and provides some vindication and relief as I proceed with the litigation against the remaining parties.” This ordeal comes after the Western Standard learned in June the Alberta NDP selected Executive Director Garett Spelliscy as its litigation representative in Ford’s defamation case. .Alberta NDP names executive director as litigation rep in Caylan Ford’s case .“The Defendant, Garett Spelliscy (‘Spelliscy’) is an individual resident to Edmonton, Alberta, and is appointed as the litigation representative for the Alberta New Democratic Party, also known as Alberta’s NDP and Alberta’s New Democratic Party (collectively, the ‘NDP’) in accordance with the April 24, 2024 Order of the Honourable Madam Justice [Corina] Dario,” said Harrison. He said Spelliscy was acting in his capacity as an employee for the NDP. Additionally, he pointed out he was acting in the course of his employment and with its full knowledge and consent. Kinney could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
Former Alberta United Conservative Party candidate Caylan Ford (Calgary-Mountain View) has accepted an offer of $250,000 from Progress Alberta and Executive Director Duncan Kinney to settle a defamation lawsuit arising from publications during the 2019 election. In the weeks prior to the 2019 Alberta election, Ford said Progress Alberta and Kinney had published a series of false, inflammatory statements about her. “The defamation published by Progress Alberta and Mr. Kinney was the most serious kind,” said Ford’s lawyer Richard E. Harrison in a Friday press release.“It alleged Ms. Ford was hateful and dangerous.”The Alberta UCP saw Ford as a star candidate in the 2019 election, as she was recruited by former premier Jason Kenney to run in Calgary-Mountain View. .EXCLUSIVE: How a Conservative candidate worked with the NDP to bring down star UCP candidate.Canadian political operative Karim Jivraj destroyed her candidacy by planting false stories about her in Press Progress. Edited parts of private philosophical conversations involving her were given to Press Progress, with various people and organizations saying she was a white supremacist.She ended up resigning her candidacy to avoid becoming a distraction to the UCP’s campaign. The publications by Progress Alberta and Kinney referred to Ford as a white supremacist, hateful, racist, Islamophobic, and an extremist. These publications sought to draw an association between she and the Christchurch mosque shooter who had killed 50 people and misrepresented statements she had made in a private conversation to attribute to her views that she did not have.Following her resignation as a candidate, Ford appeared on former 770 CHQR host Danielle Smith’s radio show to defend herself against defamatory accusations. Progress Alberta launched a petition campaign against Smith, saying she offered a platform to a white supremacist and threatened to target her advertisers as retribution. Ford filed a $7.6 million defamation case in 2020 against 14 people and organizations, including Progress Alberta, the Toronto Star, the CBC, the NDP, and the Broadbent Institute. Counsel for Kinney and Progress Alberta offered to settle the case against them after a three-year discovery process. Litigation against the remaining defendants is ongoing.Harrison concluded by saying Progress Alberta’s and Kinney’s defamation “sought to punish a media organization for giving Ms. Ford a platform to respond to the false allegations levelled against her.”“While no amount of money can provide full restitution, this is an important step toward righting a grievous wrong,” said Harrison. Ford said in an interview with the Western Standard no monetary amount can provide full restitution in this case because she was not the only person harmed by the defamation. “I think that it was an injustice done to the people and the voters of Alberta,” she said. “I think that the defamation against me by these parties in particular was intended or had the effect of exacerbating pain and anguish and confusion in the Muslim community in Alberta because of their attempt to conflate me as a prominent UCP candidate with the Christchurch mosque shooter who had just killed 50 people.” Unfortunately, she said this settlement does not provide any restitution for other people who were harmed. She added it “is an important first step and provides some vindication and relief as I proceed with the litigation against the remaining parties.” This ordeal comes after the Western Standard learned in June the Alberta NDP selected Executive Director Garett Spelliscy as its litigation representative in Ford’s defamation case. .Alberta NDP names executive director as litigation rep in Caylan Ford’s case .“The Defendant, Garett Spelliscy (‘Spelliscy’) is an individual resident to Edmonton, Alberta, and is appointed as the litigation representative for the Alberta New Democratic Party, also known as Alberta’s NDP and Alberta’s New Democratic Party (collectively, the ‘NDP’) in accordance with the April 24, 2024 Order of the Honourable Madam Justice [Corina] Dario,” said Harrison. He said Spelliscy was acting in his capacity as an employee for the NDP. Additionally, he pointed out he was acting in the course of his employment and with its full knowledge and consent. Kinney could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
