A federal lawyer involved in changing Blacklock’s Reporter Wikipedia page was made a Superior Court judge on Monday..After an incident in 2016, a courthouse clerk, who was not named, was disciplined..“I wish Justice Kaufman every success,” Attorney General Arif Virani said on Monday in a statement. Alexandre Kaufman, formerly with the department of Justice civil litigation branch, was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, as a federal lawyer in 2016, Kaufman successfully defended the finance department in one Blacklock’s Reporter copyright action in Federal Court. .Access to Information records indicated Kaufman, within minutes of receiving a court judgment, emailed it to 22 people, including two Ottawa bloggers, a Globe and Mail columnist, two private law firms, two federal communications officers, the University of Western Ontario and several federal lawyers. .“Christmas came early,” wrote Kaufman. .“Please enjoy.”.“Very well done, Alex,” counsel for the Bank of Canada replied to one Kaufman email..“A wonder kick in the knackers for Blacklock’s.” .The bank's lawyer later apologized for the note.. Alexandre Kaufman .When Kaufman was sending out these emails, someone using a Federal Court computer made negative changes to the Blacklock’s Reporter Wikipedia page..When asked, the managers would not say who did it or if Kaufman had asked for the Wikipedia changes to be made..“We strive to be exemplary in everything we do,” the Courts Administration Service wrote in its Annual Report to Parliament at the time. .“Judicial independence is a cornerstone of the Canadian judicial system.”.Kaufman resigned from the department of Justice before the release of records in the matter. Then-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould left an investigation of the Wikipedia incident to the Courts Administration Service..“Disciplinary measures were taken against an employee,” the Administration said in a statement. .“The measures taken took into consideration the employee’s wrongdoing.”.In a separate incident, Kaufman emailed witnesses who had given sworn statements in the Blacklock’s Reporter case and told them “you are free to withdraw your affidavit,” so you will not be cross-examined..In 2018, a Federal Court stated that the accusations of tampering with witnesses in the case were false..“I’m just doing my job,” Kaufman told Blacklock’s reporters.
