Day 29
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.
Direct Examination of Mr. Stephen Magusiak by Ms. Tiessen (Counsel for the Broadbent Institute and Messrs. Lebrun and Magusiak)
Mr. Stephen Magusiak is a Calgary resident with a journalism degree. In 2019, he was the Alberta reporter for Press Progress. His testimony included the following points:
He suffers from PTSD, which affects his memory.
He has never been a member of a political party.
He authored the October 13 Press Progress “fraudulent resident” article (Tab 4) [click HERE to view].
He did not consult Caylan before writing the article, stating that such consultation would have been Lebrun’s responsibility.
He also wrote the Press Progress article “Bozos, Bigots and Sketchy Characters,” which included Caylan.
Lebrun asked him to meet with Jivraj to verify the authenticity of the Facebook messages Jivraj was providing to Press Progress.
He met Jivraj at a café, scrolled through Jivraj’s cellphone, viewed the messages between Caylan and Jivraj, and saw Caylan’s profile.
He then called Lebrun and reported that “it appeared to check out.”
He asked Jivraj if he could be referred to as a “prominent Muslim conservative,” and Jivraj agreed.
He participated in the Alberta Advantage podcast.
Direct examination concluded.
Cross‑Examination of Mr. Magusiak by Mr. Harrison (Counsel for Caylan)
During cross‑examination, Mr. Magusiak testified:
He described Caylan as “a parachute candidate 100%.”
He said Caylan was “covering her past in Ontario, safe to say.”
He had written that “… this clearly parachuted candidate … shows how dubious these nomination battles are.”
He had written that “… it looks like she never lived in Alberta, as far as I can tell, certainly not until recently.”
He could not recall the names of persons who had emailed him (Press Progress had redacted the names).
He could not recall whether Thomas Lukaszuk informed him that allegations about Caylan were being disseminated by Jivraj.
Mr. Mack (counsel for Magusiak) informed the Court that Thomas Lukaszuk was the source of the email.
Magusiak learned from Lukaszuk that Jivraj was the source of allegations about Caylan appearing on social media.
Although he wrote the October 13 “fraudulent resident” article, he conducted no investigation into the truth of the statements in the fraudulent resident letter which formed part of the article.
He never spoke to Caylan before writing the story.
He stated that determining the truth was Lebrun’s responsibility.
Tweets Between Caylan and Magusiak (February 2019)
Magusiak: “nobody in the party had heard of her [Caylan] outside of maybe party conservative circles”
Caylan: “you’ve polled 4.2 million Albertans, and nobody has heard of me? That’s weird. I’ve lived in Calgary for 20+ years. Sorry to disappoint – I know conspiracies are more fun.”
Magusiak: “I’ll take your word on that I guess.”
Caylan: “Talking to someone is usually the better way of getting information about them. And while we’re here. My nomination was in December, I signed the purchase agreement on my Calgary home months before meeting Jason Kenney and my board of directors is actually excellent.”
Despite these exchanges, which informed him of Caylan’s long‑term residence in Calgary, he never updated the October 13 article to correct its false statements and continued to describe her as a parachute candidate.
Additional points from cross‑examination:
He did not recall whether he had published two further articles about Caylan.
He vaguely recalled participating in the Alberta Advantage podcast about Caylan.
The podcast title was “Corbella on Caylan Ford, Who Said White Supremacist Things.”
The podcast was publicly available and not behind a paywall.
Statements made by Magusiak on the Alberta Advantage Podcast
Caylan had a “fully formed white nationalist ideology.”
“the entire constituency association, like the entire board of the Mountainview Constituency Association, put out a protest letter against Caylan Ford.”
Caylan’s husband was staying at home because he was “chained to a radiator.”
Caylan’s husband was “a background dufus.”
Caylan was a “grifter.”
· He used the phrase “simple partner.”
He could not recall whether he was referring to Caylan’s husband when he used the phrase “simple partner.”
At the time of the podcast, Magusiak had been informed that:
The “fraudulent resident” letter was signed by only nine members of the board.
It had not been approved by the Constituency Association.
It had not been approved by the board of the Constituency Association.
It was based on a false interpretation of UCP eligibility rules.
Caylan had been approved as a legitimate candidate by the Party.
Failure to Consider Caylan’s Actual Philosophy
Although he reviewed the Facebook messages between Caylan and Jivraj, he did not recall reading Caylan’s statements that:
she “does not believe that whiteness is the defining feature of Western civilization.”
she “does not believe that people are chiefly defined by race or ethnicity.”
“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.”
“My point is that the loss of any identity is lamentable.”
“I’m not against miscegenation, I would reject any policy of discrimination based on race (positive or negative discrimination). Altogether I just find identity politics dangerous.”
she called the neo‑Nazi rally in Charlottesville “sickening.”
He acknowledged knowing there was a “personal beef” between Jivraj and Caylan.
He stated that he never corrected the false statements in the October 13 article because that was Lebrun’s responsibility.
Comment
Mr. Magusiak began his testimony by stating that he suffers from PTSD and that it affects his memory. That may explain his inability to recall during cross‑examination.
His indifference to verifying the truth of what he published was striking. His participation in the Alberta Advantage podcast, however, stands out as independently significant. The podcast featured four individuals laughingly and derisively celebrating Caylan’s downfall, ridiculing her, her husband, and even their daughter, on a publicly available broadcast syndicated on CJSW. The tone and content reflected a sadistic absence of basic decency.
Mr. Magusiak’s testimony concluded and he was excused.
Direct Examination of Ms. Jennifer Hassum by Mr. Mack (Counsel for the Broadbent Institute and Defendants Lebrun and Magusiak)
Ms. Jennifer Hassum has been Executive Director of the Broadbent Institute since 2021. She described the Institute as “Canada’s leading social democratic think tank.” Her testimony included:
The Broadbent Institute does not have ties to any political party.
Press Progress is an independent media project of the Broadbent Institute and functions as a newsroom.
Press Progress is structured to be editorially independent from the Institute.
Press Progress is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists and has won Canadian online publishing awards.
Press Progress receives some government funding, accepts donations, and receives financial support from the Broadbent Institute.
Press Progress subscribed to a service that tracked social‑media sharing metrics to provide data about readership.
Press Progress deleted that data so it was impossible to know how many readers had read articles about Caylan.
Press Progress does not endorse political parties in elections.
Cross‑Examination of Ms. Hassum by Mr. Harrison (Counsel for Caylan)
Key points from cross‑examination:
Only individual journalists—not Press Progress as an organization—are accredited with the Canadian Association of Journalists.
All of the Press Progress articles at issue in this litigation were approved by the Broadbent Institute before publication.
Ms. Hassum testified that the Press Progress editor had final authority over publication.
She stands by the truth of the “Bozos, Bigots, and Sketchy Characters” article, which included Caylan.
She declined to answer whether Caylan was a “sketchy character.”
She declined to answer whether Caylan was recruited by Jason Kenney at a cocktail party.
When asked whether Caylan moved to Calgary to run for the UCP, she stated she stood behind the Press Progress story.
She stands behind the truth of the contents of the March 18 Press Progress article.
She stands behind the statement that Press Progress “exclusively obtained” the leaked messages.
She stands behind the description of Jivraj as a Muslim conservative with deep ties to the conservative party.
She stands behind reporting that Caylan “flirts with white nationalism.”
She stands behind reporting that Caylan promoted hateful and extremist views.
Her testimony concluded after a brief re‑direct.