Greetings,

With this website and newsletter, I provide brief summaries of each day’s events at my daughter Caylan Ford’s trial.  I am partisan, but the reporting on events is intended to be an accurate account of what transpired during each day, and I reported the proceedings as I heard and understood them to the best of my limited and fading abilities.

Each day’s post finishes with a comment which may reflect my partisanship. You can read them all in the Blog section of this site. The most recent posts are visible at the bottom of this page, and to access all posts, simply click on “Blog” above.

If you are not familiar with the case or its history, or would like more information, see Reference Documents, [the tab in the top right corner of this page] for informative articles which provide relevant information about the case.  The titles describe the contents: Events Leading to Trial, The Legal Case, Of Certain Defendants, Key Exhibits, andCaylan’s Biography.

There is also a Glossary in Reference Documents which defines names or terms, many of which have broader than normal meanings, allowing me to limit the number of names I type. I have also begun a page in which I will add Key Exhibits relevant to the day’s events that are referenced in my posts.

Testimony in the trial has concluded, but I will post some updates and commentary over the summer. Legal teams for both plaintiff and defence are submitting written briefs and final oral arguments are scheduled for October 7 with the judge’s decision coming sometime after that.

Thank you,

Lyle Ford

Day-by-Day Summaries

Featured
Day 47 (cont’d) & Day 48

Evidence of Avnish Nanda

(Direct Examination by Mr. Franken)

Mr. Nanda is an Edmonton lawyer who described himself as an advocate of pluralism, multiculturalism, and racial equity.  In 2019 he published 77 tweets about Caylan and authored an op-ed published in the Edmonton Journal.  He never met or talked to Caylan.

He testified extensively about his family history, noting that he comes from two successive generations of refugees who experienced extreme religious violence in India.  His grandparents were displaced by the partition of India and Pakistan, and his parents by religious strife in the Punjab.  He grew up hearing accounts of refugee experiences, ethno‑nationalist conflict, and the challenges faced by minorities in democratic societies.

He is the first generation in his family born in Canada and grew up in racialized, majority‑minority neighbourhoods.  His family was steeped in Hindu art, culture, and languages.

Read more →
Day 47

Dr. Perry Evidence

Examination‑in‑Chief of Dr. Barbara Perry by Mr. Franken (Counsel for Nanda)

Dr. Perry’s report and sur‑rebuttal report were entered as exhibits. Her continued testimony included the following:

  • Dr. Perry was asked by Counsel for Nanda to answer three questions.

  • She conducted desk research and identified key literature on the Great Replacement Theory (GRT).

  • The first question posed to her was:

    • Is there a relationship between replacement theory and White supremacy or White nationalism? If so, what is the connection? How is replacement theory used by White supremacists and the White nationalist movement?

  • Dr. Perry answered that yes, there is a relationship between GRT and both White supremacy and White nationalism.

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Day 46

The defence of Avnish Nanda continued.

Dr. Barbara Perry was called as a witness. She was proffered as an expert qualified to give opinion evidence in sociology and criminology, hate studies, and extremism, with a focus on white supremacy, white nationalism, racism, Islamophobia, and their relationship to Great Replacement Theory (GRT).

Her evidence was intended to counter the testimony of Dr. Kaufmann, who has similar expertise and testified for Caylan.

The direct evidence of Dr. Perry, her cross-examination, and legal argument concerning Dr. Perry’s qualifications took up the entire day.

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