Day 28
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.
Cross‑Examination of Mr. Lebrun by Mr. Harrison (Counsel for Caylan)
Note: References to the “Article” are to the March 18 Press Progress article about Caylan. The other key document discussed below is the series of March 18 emails sent by Mr. Lebrun to Caylan (the “March 18 emails”). Copies of those documents can be viewed by clicking the links above and where indicated below.
Background: January 2019 – Jivraj Identified as the Source
In January 2019, Mr. Lebrun learned that Jivraj was the source of the screenshots circulating on social media.
Thomas Lucaszyk provided Jivraj’s phone number, and Mr. Lebrun called him.
The call was recorded by Lebrun. A transcript provided the following evidence:
First Phone Call
Mr. Lebrun told Jivraj he was happy to protect anyone’s identity.
He understood that Jivraj wanted anonymity because he was seeking a Conservative Party nomination.
Mr. Lebrun asked whether it was true that Jivraj had been removed as president of the Mountainview Constituency Association.
Jivraj replied that he had resigned because he was “disgusted.”
Jivraj asked Press Progress not to mention his name; Mr. Lebrun agreed.
Jivraj described Caylan as “an extremely dangerous person” and later as a “sane crazy person … very dangerous. So her feet need to be held to the fire.”
Jivraj said that if the screenshots were published, Jason Kenney would “come after him,” and Kenney was “a very dangerous guy.”
Continued Lebrun Testimony and Evidence
Mr. Lebrun had received emails from “Whistleblower” (Jivraj) on January 14 containing the “terrorist message” and the “pride parade” message.
Press Progress did not publish anything about these messages until March 18 — the day before the writ dropped.
In early March, Jivraj contacted Mr. Lebrun pitching “a super interesting story.”
Mr. Lebrun gave him his phone number.
Jivraj called Lebrun; Lebrun recorded this call without telling Jivraj that he was doing so.
Second Phone Call – Key Statements by Jivraj
Jivraj told Mr. Lebrun:
He had been disqualified from running for the federal Conservative nomination in Calgary‑Centre.
He was not thrilled but said the disqualification “liberates him in a way” because he had “some bones to pick.”
“So whatever you [Press Progress] need about conservative politics in Calgary I will give you whatever you need.”
“The second thing I want to reach out to you about is the Caylan Ford stuff.”
“You guys should do a better job of dividing conservatives among themselves.”
“I think now is the time to release a story about her views on pride. That it’s a celebration of vice and transgression.”
“… it’s a lake of fire moment …”
He suggested pretending there was a rift in the UCP between “progressive centrists and the hardcore religious right.”
“So, what I would suggest is basically casting a huge divide within the conservative party …”
“Um you need to target Caylan Ford, cause she’s the one who said these things. … it needs to be an article about her …”
“Um, it could be devastating.”
He explained that the campaign would be announced March 17 and said he debated whether to give Press Progress the information before or after the writ dropped. He concluded it should be released beforehand so Kenney could still disqualify Caylan.
“I can send you a signed affidavit … attesting to the fact that these screenshots are authentic.”
“I think the signed affidavit does the trick.”
“And this is what I find to be the most damaging. But I would, I would wait. I would do the pride one first. Hit. And then I would wait for a second shot in case he doesn’t disqualify her, ….”
Jivraj was calling for a hit job on Caylan.
“When you release these stories they need to be released in a very heavy fashion. Like they need to be bombshells.”
He asked whether the “residency fraud issue” was still relevant.
He offered to send Press Progress a list of questions that Caylan “will not give you a response” to.
He claimed the UCP had tried to “stab [him] out of the party” by portraying him as “a bizarre creep and harasser,” and that Caylan had called the police on him, which he said led to his disqualification.
He predicted the UCP would try to portray him as “one rogue crazy person who is on all sorts of meds or whatever.”
He added: “… the stupidest thing they could have done was to disqualify me because had I been the federal candidate I would have had to be extremely careful. Um, now I don’t give a shit.”
Lebrun’s Response During the Call
After Jivraj suggested an affidavit “does the trick,” Lebrun replied: “… Yeah I think it does too. Because there’s, you know, that gives us some, uh, qualified privilege.”
Further Evidence from Mr. Lebrun
Jivraj had asked Press Progress not to publish anything about Caylan in January.
By March, he wanted an article published.
Mr. Lebrun never investigated the police report filed against Jivraj.
He testified: “I mean, he wasn’t in jail or anything like that, so I saw no reason to believe there was anything to it.”
He understood that Jivraj wanted anonymity because he could be discredited as a stalker or “rogue crazy person.”
He granted anonymity knowing this.
Events of March 17
Jivraj wrote to Mr. Lebrun: “… you can quote me as a prominent conservative speaking on condition of anonymity.”
By the afternoon of March 17, the Article was written.
Jivraj sent Press Progress the feature photo used in the Article (Caylan with Jason Kenney).
Mr. Lebrun decided to describe Jivraj as a “prominent conservative,” despite knowing:
He had been suspended from the UCP.
He had resigned as Mountainview CA president under threat of removal.
He had been disqualified federally.
In an internal email, Lebrun wrote that identifying him as a “Muslim conservative” would make it “look terrible” for anyone to attack him.
He knew Jivraj wanted Caylan disqualified.
The March 18 Emails
At 3:56 PM EST, Lebrun emailed Katrina Miller (Broadbent Institute): “I’m about to send her an email and give her 3 hours to respond (I expect no response, but will give her an opportunity) ….”
Although the Article had been written on March 17, he did not contact Caylan until the afternoon of March 18.
At 4:49 PM EST, he sent the first email to Caylan;
He sent 7 emails in total; they were all sent in a time span of 3 hours and 20 minutes.
He sent all of those emails so he could say that he had made multiple requests on Caylan to respond.
Caylan was at her campaign launch work party and did not see the first of the series of emails until nearly 4:00 PM MST.
She was given until 6:00 PM MST to respond.
Lebrun claimed he had a “deadline,” though Press Progress had no regular publication deadlines.
The email asked seven pointed questions, each premised on Caylan being a white supremacist or white nationalist.
Lebrun’s Evidence Concerning the Article
Press Progress had possessed the “terrorist message” for months but did not publish earlier.
There was no external deadline.
The publication deadline was set arbitrarily by Mr. Lebrun.
Additional Lebrun evidence is included in my Comment on the Article, below.
Comment – The Article
Headline and Initial Mischaracterizations
The headline — “UCP Candidate Complained ‘White Supremacist Terrorists’ are Treated Unfairly, Leaked Messages Show” — misrepresented Caylan’s comments.
She had not complained that white supremacist terrorists were treated unfairly; she contrasted the treatment of white supremacists with the treatment of Islamists and found the asymmetry “interesting.”
Although the Article quoted her reference to the “perverse moral reasoning” of white supremacists, it omitted her reference to the “odious aspects” of white nationalism.
Misquotation of the “Western Culture” Comment
The Article claimed Caylan suggested “’Western culture’ would collapse if ‘another race’ takes over …”.
She made no such statement.
Her actual words were: “… I think it is unlikely that Western culture will survive without Western peoples. Why would another race want to cast away their own culture to adopt someone else’s on such a massive scale? Some people will, for sure, just as some Westerners have sought to adopt wholesale the customs and languages of other people, but it will always be limited.”
Press Progress removed roughly half the words, altering the meaning.
Her comment did not predict cultural collapse.
Misrepresentation of the Source
The Article stated the messages were obtained “exclusively” by Press Progress.
In fact, CBC and the Toronto Star also had them.
It described the source as a “long-time Muslim conservative with deep ties to the party.”
Jivraj had stated he rejected Islam.
His description as a Muslim had been adopted to insulate him from scrutiny and make anyone who attacked him appear racist.
See the actual words used by Lebrun and Magusiak in their messages: [click HERE to view]
Press Progress identified Jivraj as a conservative with deep ties to the party although they knew he had been suspended as president of the Mountainview Constituency Association, had resigned as president under the threat of being removed, and had been disqualified by the federal Conservative party as a candidate in the Calgary-Centre riding because of a police report against him.
Press Progress also knew that Jivraj had requested anonymity because of his bad reputation; that if his identity was known he would come across as a“bizarre creep and harasser”, or as “one rogue crazy person who … is trying to discredit her, ….”, as Jivraj had acknowledged in the second telephone conversation.
Failure to Disclose the Three‑Hour Deadline
The Article stated Caylan “did not respond to subsequent emails.”
It omitted that:
She was given only three hours.
She lacked access to the messages and could neither confirm nor deny.
She was not provided the full statement nor the surrounding context.
An explanation was impossible without access to the entirety of the messages.
She was asked to answer seven pointed questions premised on her being a white supremacist.
Irrelevant and Prejudicial References
The Article referenced the Charlottesville attack, which had happened two years previously and had nothing to do with Caylan.
· It states, “… the Muslim conservative says Ford attempted to engage them in a dialogue over Facebook Messenger in an attempt to find ‘common ground.’”
In reality, Jivraj initiated the discussion, and Caylan called the Charlottesville violence “sickening.”
· If Jivraj made that quoted statement it is another demonstration of his disingenuity; if he didn’t make the statement, it demonstrates Press Progress disingenuity.
It referenced the Christchurch massacre, also unrelated.
False Claim of “Flirting with White Nationalism”
The Article stated the messages showed Caylan “flirting with white nationalism.”
Her actual statements included: “White nationalists believe that race is central to their identity. The preservation of white dominance is their principle political objective. I absolutely do not share those aims and beliefs.”
And: “A white nationalist might say that race is the primary determinant of culture, for instance, and I wouldn’t agree with that.”
Press Progress shamelessly quoted their anonymous source in three separate paragraphs despite knowing he lacked credibility.
Guilt by Association and Additional Misleading Elements
· The ninth paragraph makes the damning insinuation that Caylan is somehow associated with the Christchurch shooter who, two years previously, had gunned down 50 Muslims during peaceful prayer.
The Article repeated the claim that Caylan was “handpicked” by Jason Kenney – another demonstration of Press Progress indifference to truth.
It included her description of white supremacists as “perverse” but omitted her reference to the “odious” aspects of white supremacy.
It conflated demographic replacement (a demographic concept) with the “great replacement” conspiracy theory.
It falsely stated she declared: “I think it is unlikely that Western culture will survive without Western peoples if ‘another race’ becomes dominant.”
She never said this.
There was no “if,” no reference to another race becoming dominant, and no prediction of collapse.
The Article referenced disqualified UCP candidates to imply guilt by association.
It quoted Janice Herrington: “A polite racist is still a racist.” – attempting to emblazon a swastika on Caylan’s forehead.
The Article remains live on the Press Progress website.