Day 20
Note: I am a poor note-taker and these summaries will contain errors and omissions which will reflect my limitations. My intention is to report on the facts as accurately as possible although a subconscious bias may creep in. I can only provide glimpses into what I see as relevant and interesting events. My goal is to capture the essence of the day’s events rather than be comprehensive.
Read the reference documents: The Legal Case and Events Leading to Trial to obtain an understanding of the case and its history. Names and terms are abbreviated and defined in Glossary.
Testimony of Michelle Traxel
Direct Examination of Michelle Traxel by Richard Harrison
Ms. Traxel was called as a witness by the Plaintiff, Caylan.
Ms. Traxel identified herself as “a disabled stay‑at‑home mom” who creates online videos.
Background and Social Media Activity
On TikTok, she is known as “knittyknits.”
As of March 2025, she had approximately 100,000 followers on TikTok.
On Instagram, she uses the handle “The real knitty.”
She earns some income from advertisers of underwear and sex toys but testified that social‑media activity is not a meaningful source of income.
She creates videos to promote “social and political awareness” from a left‑wing perspective.
She has no post‑secondary education.
She ran as a federal NDP candidate in 2021.
Videos Concerning the Canada Strong & Free Conference
In March 2025, she created a video discussing all speakers at an upcoming Canada Strong & Free Conference.
She described the conference as a “who’s who of right‑wing hate.”
The video went through the list of speakers, offering commentary on each.
Statements About Caylan
She described Caylan as someone who had to quit the UCP because of “absolutely heinous” and “white supremacist” comments.
Her source for these views was a March 19 CBC article linking Caylan to white supremacy.
She testified that the CBC article affirmed her pre‑existing opinions about Caylan’s ideology, particularly regarding “white replacement.”
She acknowledged she was already biased against Caylan because Caylan was associated with the UCP; the articles she read confirmed her bias.
She did not reach out to Caylan before publishing the video.
Court Playback and Reaction
An excerpt of her first video—the portion discussing Caylan—was played in court.
In the excerpt, Ms. Traxel was flippant and contemptuous, describing Caylan as a heinous white supremacist.
Events Following Publication
Caylan sent a cease‑and‑desist letter requesting an apology.
Ms. Traxel did not comply; instead, she doubled down by publishing a second video.
In the second video, she attacked Caylan’s lawyer, Richard Harrison.
She deleted the Caylan portion of her first video but left Caylan’s photo and name in the remaining content.
She reiterated that her information came from CBC and Toronto Star articles characterizing Caylan as a white supremacist.
Those articles remained live on the CBC and Toronto Star websites in 2025.
After Caylan threatened a defamation lawsuit, Ms. Traxel eventually removed the entire video and issued an apology.
Apology
Her apology video was played in court.
She retracted all statements about Caylan and stated explicitly that Caylan is not a white supremacist.
She acknowledged that her statements were made from pettiness and spite.
She asked her viewers to stop contacting Caylan.
She stated that she made the apology “under duress” because she feared being sued.
Cross‑Examination of Ms. Traxel by Mr. Woodley (Counsel for the CBC)
Ms. Traxel believed Caylan had a conservative bias.
Caylan threatened her with a lawsuit seeking $200,000 in damages.
She believed Caylan’s problems were of her own making.
The portion of her video discussing Caylan was 17 seconds within a 10‑minute video.
She believed that because Caylan used the word “replacement,” she must be a white supremacist.
She had only skimmed a Toronto Star article about Caylan, and that was the basis of her views.
The testimony of Ms. Traxel concluded and she was excused.
Comment
The main point of calling Ms. Traxel was to establish that in 2025 – 6 years after Caylan had resigned -- CBC and Toronto Star still had live articles on their websites describing Caylan as a white supremacist. Their defamation continued for years.
Ms. Traxel’s apology was not sincere; she obviously did not understand that she had wronged Caylan.
She was unhappy to be appearing as a witness for Caylan; she had been subpoenaed.
She was an NDP partisan and had nothing good to say about Caylan.
With over 100,000 viewers, her videos provide a platform capable of mobilizing online hostility.
The CBC and the Toronto Star provided the fuel with which to ignite that hostility.
Additional Proceedings
Lengthy legal argument followed concerning the procedure to be applied when Jivraj is called as a witness.
Court adjourned.