Litigation update

FEB. 10TH UPDATE: the trial in Vigna v. Levant has been adjourned until March 15th.

I haven't posted for a few weeks on the state of the nuisance lawsuits against me, and now's a good time for an update.

Warman v. Levant et al.

In 2008, Richard Warman sued me and several other bloggers for defamation, in Toronto. On Monday my lawyers went to court in Toronto to compel Warman to disclose hundreds (possibly thousands) of items from his computer hard drive that we believe are relevant to the suit. The matter has been postponed for a number of weeks, but will likely be resolved this Spring.

Vigna v. Levant

In 2008, Canadian Human Rights Commission lawyer Giacomo Vigna filed a defamation suit against me, too, in Ottawa. Some brief preliminary matters were dealt with today, and the trial itself begins tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. at the Ottawa court house on Elgin Street. Feel free to come by if you're interested; the clerk at the front desk will have the room number. The trial will likely take up the rest of this week and start up again next Tuesday.

FEB. 10TH UPDATE: This morning the trial was adjourned until March 15th.

Law Society complaints

I have lost count of the exact number of Law Society complaints filed against my blog -- I think it's 23. All but the last three have been disposed of -- all dismissed, with no finding of guilt and no conviction.

Now, it might sound odd that a lawyer has to answer for blogging -- a non-lawyerly activity -- but lawyers are bound to live up to professional standards no matter what they're doing. I'm pleased to report that, when I specifically asked the Law Society if there was a single word in the nearly 2-million words I've written on my blog that they wanted me to take down, the answer was "no". See, the thing about legal ethics is that they're not just negative -- don't do this or that. They're positive, too: lawyers have an active obligation to work to reform the legal system for the better. If I weren't a lawyer, it would be okay to walk away from the injustices within Canada's human rights commissions. But as long as I'm a member in good standing of the Law Society, I am actually compelled to criticize them -- it's not a matter of choice. That's the balance: being a vigorous critic of our human rights commissions, but doing it in a professional manner. To my deep satisfaction, the complaints that I upset that balance have been dismissed.

All of Warren Kinsella's complaints have been thrown out, as well as all of Warman's complaints, and Vigna's first batch of complaints -- totalling over 1,000 pages -- have been thrown out, too. Vigna has since filed another complaint, but it is a repeat of an earlier complaint and so I expect it will be thrown out, as well.

Lawfare

Let's add that all up. Three human rights commission complaints against me (two in Alberta for publishing cartoons, and one at the CHRC for blogging).

Approximately 23 Law Society complaints (plus three outstanding).

And five defamation actions.

That's 31 complaints or lawsuits all together --  all by people associated with Canada's human rights commissions, and almost all focused on my criticisms of the HRCs. I guess they're fighting me in the courts of law, because they've been so spectactularly unsuccessful in the court of public opinion.

I'm 23 for 23. Still, it's a hassle.

Remember the true freedom fighters

But if I ever feel like complaining, all I need to do is think of the "hassle" that our grandparents went to, to defend our freedoms seventy years ago, or the price our brave Canadian Forces pay every day to promote political and religious freedom in places like Afghanistan today.

I was in Edmonton a couple of months ago giving a speech at a fundraising event for CF amputees organized by the great Matt Altheim. The other speakers were Laurie Hawn, the MP who served for years in the RCAF, and Master Corporal (Ret.) Paul Franklin, who lost his legs in an IED attack in Afghanistan. Here's some video highlights:

It's a little much to talk about "fighting" for freedom when the most I've fought off is a few nuisance suits, and the closest I've come to a "crossfire" is a TV show, and the only "war room" I've been to is in a campaign office. You just can't use those words in the presence of such real heroes who have made true physical sacrifices for our freedom.

Wish me luck. But more importantly, wish for freedom for all of us -- that most valuable thing that every generation much cherish or lose.