'CANVAS OF CHAOS': Witness alleges Karim Jivraj left wake of political destruction in Caylan Ford defamation trial

CALGARY — A former United Conservative Party (UCP) nomination candidate has described political activist Karim Jivraj as being like “the doctor that poisons you and then gives you the cure for the poison,” as he testified about false sexual misconduct allegations in Caylan Ford’s defamation trial.Philip Schuman, who ran for the UCP nomination in the riding of Calgary-Glenmore in 2018, told the court the description reflected what he believed was a pattern of behaviour by Jivraj, in which he “would sow seeds of chaos in people's lives, and then he would be the antidote to the chaos that he created.”.Schuman described Jivraj as a “con artist” who was devoted to his craft.“Karim was an artist in what he did.... He was so in love with his craft that he did it to the detriment of himself,” Schuman testified.“But he loved the canvas of chaos.”Ford, who at the time was running as a UCP nomination candidate in the riding of Calgary-Mountain View before her campaign was derailed by a series of Facebook Messenger messages between her and Jivraj, which were reported on in articles by Press Progress and other media outlets, had previously testified in court that she had met Schuman at a coffee shop, where he told her he had heard she was accusing him of sexual harassment, which shocked Ford.The source of this information had allegedly been Jivraj, and Ford told Schuman she had never made such an accusation, later telling the court she believed the rumour was actually intended to harm her, not Schuman.Schuman testified he confronted Jivraj over the matter via text message, which then escalated into a heated exchange before the two of them and Ford agreed to meet at a Calgary pub to settle the matter.During that meeting, Schuman testified Jivraj showed up late and appeared to be “very intoxicated.”Jivraj was said to have admitted to spreading the allegations, attributing his actions to alcohol and jealousy, and suggesting it was because he had the idea that Ford might run in Calgary-Glenmore, so he was going to use the allegations to “clear [Schuman] out of the riding for Caylan.”.Kenney denies Caylan Ford was 'handpicked', says racism claims were ‘completely absurd’.He then apologized to Schuman in what was described as “a genuine apology.”“It was from the heart, I believed it, and honestly, I still believe it,” Schuman told the court, adding that he thought at the time the three of them were making “headway,” with Schuman offering to go to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings with Jivraj.However, after Ford left the meeting, Schuman testified the situation rapidly deteriorated.He said Jivraj became aggressive and reversed his apology.Schuman alleges Jivraj told him, “I had to solve this problem that you created,” adding that he was taken aback by the sudden change in Jivraj’s demeanour before things turned violent, and Jivraj lunged at him and tried to grab his neck.“It was truly an unbelievable experience,” Schuman stated.He testified that after the two were broken up by the bar staff, they went their separate ways, with Jivraj still yelling at him from across the establishment's parking lot as they got into their vehicles.

'CANVAS OF CHAOS': Witness alleges Karim Jivraj left wake of political destruction in Caylan Ford defamation trial

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