The Council of Canadians says the Tories are using “a classic ‘divert and defame’ strategy” to fight the group’s attempt to overturn the results of the votes in seven ridings from last May’s federal election.
The council has brought applications in Federal Court alleging that misleading robocalls and live calls changed the outcome in these ridings. The applications were filed on behalf of voters in each riding.
In a voluminous court filings last month, the Conservatives accused the council of “champerty and maintenance” — a long-standing legal doctrine against participating in someone else’s lawsuit — and said the court challenges were politically motivated.
Conservative party lawyer Arthur Hamilton backed up the motions to dismiss the challenges with a 690-page affidavit filed by Peter Henein, another lawyer in his firm, which itemized a long list of the council’s past opposition to the government and its policies.
The documents alleged that Council of Canadians chairwoman Maude Barlow had a longtime animus towards Prime Minister Stephen Harper and attacked the credibility of the group’s lawyer, Steven Shrybman, who is leading the litigation.
The filings described the council as “a left-wing activist group” and a “wanton and officious intermeddler.”
The affidavit from Henein is based on selective media clippings and is “patently abusive, highly prejudicial and lies entirely outside the bounds of permissible evidence,” the council argues in a response filed this week.
The Tory material is defamatory, argumentative and abusive, the council argues, asking the court to quash the affidavit and toss out the motions.
The council also contends there is no champerty and maintenance in these cases and that if the court broadened its interpretation of the doctrine to these cases it would impede justice and eliminate most public-interest litigation, which is typically sponsored by groups other than the plaintiffs.
The council says the Elections Act does not prevent another party from sponsoring a challenge made by an elector in a riding.
The council also rebuts the Tories’ claim that the applications were brought too late or procedurally deficient.
“There is absolutely no merit to it,” Shrybman said. “Our pleadings are perfectly complete and go into far more details than required.”
Oral arguments are set to begin on June 25.
Original Article
Source: national post
Author: Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher
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