VIDEO: Muslim group seeks apology from Harper, PMO
A Canadian Muslim group plans to sue the Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s communications director for libel after he allegedly linked the organization to a government-listed terrorist group.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims said Tuesday it has served a notice of libel against PMO communications director Jason MacDonald.
The council accuses MacDonald of making a “categorically false, offensive and defamatory” comment about the group during the prime minister’s visit to the Middle East earlier this month.
“The PMO’s director of communications attacked us and attempted to smear our name by claiming NCCM had ‘documented ties to a terrorist organization such as Hamas,'” the council’s executive director Ihsaan Gardee said at a press conference.
The libel notice quotes MacDonald as saying, “We will not take seriously criticism from an organization with documented ties to a terrorist organization such as Hamas.”
“NCCM will not let the PMO’s false statements stand. To say that our organization has illegal affiliations is deeply offensive to us and to Canadians of all faiths and backgrounds, and only serves to reinforce ugly stereotypes about Canadian Muslims,” Gardee said.
He said MacDonald made the comment after the council criticized the inclusion of a controversial rabbi in Harper’s delegation that went to the Middle East last week.
The notice is the first step in what could become a formal libel suit.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment Tuesday, saying “this matter may be the subject of litigation.”
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None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Canada has included Hamas on its list of illegal terrorist organizations since 2002. The Palestinian group controls the Gaza Strip, which it uses “as a base for terrorist operations aimed against Israel,” Public Safety Canada says on its website.
Toronto lawyer Doug Richardson, who represents Global News, said “at face value” the comment is defamatory.
“For a statement to be defamatory it simply has to be one which would cause people in the community to think less of the person or group,” he said. “I think most people would agree you would think less of this group if they were in fact linked to a terrorist group.”
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He said serving the libel notice is a “precondition” to move forward with a lawsuit.
Richardson said if a lawsuit were to go forward, MacDonald’s only defence would probably be to prove the alleged connection to Hamas.
But if a judge found the prime minister’s office guilty of libel, that doesn’t mean the council would get an apology or a retraction. The court can award damages or order an injunction to cease and desist making defamatory comments, but cannot demand an official apology, Richardson said.
“For a party that wants vindication, they would rather have an apology from the person who made the statements and that’s why a libel notice is useful,” he said.
He added MacDonald’s comments are not protected by privilege.
“But here what we have is someone, not an elected official but someone outside of the House, making a statement,” he said.
The council said MacDonald’s comment was a deliberate attempt to discredit the group and Harper is responsible for the words uttered by his spokesman.
“Mr. MacDonald simply made up that statement in an effort to discredit NCCM and deflect its criticism of Mr. Harper,” the libel notice said.
The council describes itself as an independent, non-partisan, non-profit group which has worked for 14 years on human rights and civil liberties issues on behalf of Canadian Muslims.
With files from The Canadian Press
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