Day 7
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 Caylan by Her Counsel, Richard Harrison
General Allegations
• David Kahn, then leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, referred to Caylan as a white supremacist
• Caylan reiterated that she had described white supremacy as “odious and perverse”
• She was accused of being a white nationalist, an Islamophobe, a racist, and a white supremacist
Testimony About the Toronto Star
Coverage and Headlines
• A Toronto Star headline read: “Star Candidate Removed for Racist Views Will Not Be Removed From Party”
• The Star frequently quoted third parties critical of Caylan
• The Star made no effort to quote anyone supportive of her; its coverage lacked balance
• It equated her with other disqualified candidates and suggested her candidacy reflected a failure of the vetting process
• The Star often featured large photos of Caylan, including a front‑page image with the headline: “We Need Higher Standards”
Use of the Press Progress Article
• The Star frequently quoted or paraphrased the Press Progress Article
• It claimed Caylan portrayed herself as a victim
• It suggested she had made statements that were hateful, racist, homophobic, and transphobic
Caylan’s Testimony About the Coverage
• She testified that the Star’s publications were extremely misleading and false
• She stated she never expressed animus toward others and never portrayed herself as a victim
• She believed she was enduring a “trial by media” in which she was not allowed to defend herself
• She felt the Star was attempting to humiliate her
• The Star never sought comment from her
• She described the portrait being painted of her as a “doppelgänger inverse image” of who she actually was
Impact on Caylan
• She developed agoraphobia due to widespread circulation of her photos alongside defamatory articles
• She did not want to be seen in public
Interactions With Star Reporters
• A Star reporter contacted her twice
• On one occasion she asked him to email his questions; he never did
• On the other, she said she could not speak that day but would be available two days later; she never heard from him again
Testimony About Defendant Nanda
Statements and Conduct
• He made statements based on the Press Progress Article and attributed views to her that were not her views
• He claimed Caylan’s membership in the UCP was evidence the Party held racist, white nationalist views
• He stated, “white supremacy has no place in Alberta”
• He was working for third‑party advertisers supporting the NDP
• He wrote articles for Press Progress, including one criticizing Danielle Smith for interviewing Caylan
• He was associated with, and acted as lawyer for, Progress Alberta (a settled defendant)
• He associated Caylan with mass murderers
• He never spoke to her, despite her invitation to meet for coffee to discuss her views
Conduct During the Danielle Smith Interview
• When Caylan appeared on Danielle Smith’s show, Nanda began posting negative comments shortly after the interview began and continued throughout
• He stated he was in disbelief that Caylan was allowed to explain her “white supremacist views”
• He stated that she had made no apology as if an apology was owed
• He paraphrased allegations from the Press Progress Article and condemned Danielle Smith for conducting the interview
Testimony About the Danielle Smith Radio Interview
Reaching Out to Danielle Smith
• In March 2019, Caylan contacted Danielle Smith, stating that the media coverage of her was unfair
• Although advised by the Party to “lay low,” she wanted to explain that she did not hold the abhorrent views attributed to her
• She sought a platform to explain what had happened
• She reached out to Danielle because she viewed Danielle as an open‑minded intellectual who would conduct a fair interview
The Interview
• Danielle conducted a 30‑minute live interview on radio and online
• Caylan explained how she had been sabotaged by Jivraj and Press Progress and that the views attributed to her were not her own
• Listener responses were initially positive, and she received supportive messages, which brought her relief
Negative Reaction
• Negative tweets soon followed, showing angry bias
• Nanda and Toronto Star reporter Emma McIntosh joined in the criticism
• McIntosh mischaracterized Caylan’s statements, writing that she was racist, unapologetic, and had made extreme white supremacist statements
• Caylan hoped the interview would redeem her, but those hopes were “suffocated”
Pressure Campaign Against Corus
• A movement began to pressure Corus Entertainment to fire Danielle Smith for airing the interview
• An online petition, written by Nanda and published by Press Progress, included a form letter making it easy to complain to CHQR
• The petition described Caylan as a “disgraced candidate,” accused Danielle and Corus of “shocking dereliction of duty,” repeated quotes from the Press Progress Article, and included the phrase “say no to white supremacy on CHQR”
• 737 people sent the form letter to Corus
• The Broadbent Institute and Nanda launched a defamation lawsuit against Corus
• Corus capitulated and removed the interview
• Danielle Smith was forced to issue a public apology
• A senior Corus executive asked Caylan to remove the interview from her website
Impact on Caylan
• She believed the interview would help clear her name, but every attempt to do so was undermined
• She felt as though she had been buried, clawed her way to the surface, and then been buried again
• The most distressing part was that she could do nothing; no one would hear her story
Additional Testimony About the Toronto Star
Social Media Activity
• Toronto Star reporter Emma McIntosh began tweeting criticism before Caylan had even spoken during the Danielle Smith interview
• McIntosh questioned why airtime was being given to an “unapologetic white supremacist,” called it disturbing and problematic, and asked how CHQR could claim to be responsible media
• She tweeted, “Hilariously, Caylan is claiming she has friends”
• Nearly 54,000 people viewed McIntosh’s tweets
Subsequent Star Coverage
• The Star reported that Caylan resigned after making racist comments, without disclosing that Jivraj was the source
• It wrote that she dodged questions about racist, Islamophobic, and anti‑LGBTQ views
• Despite Caylan having participated in three hours of public interviews explaining her views, the Star never made any positive or balancing comments
• Anyone who supported Caylan was immediately attacked online
• Neither the Star, the Broadbent Institute, nor Press Progress published anything reflecting Caylan’s perspective as set out in her resignation letter or interviews
Testimony About Caylan’s Apologia
• In 2022, Caylan wrote a 9,000‑word essay titled Apologia, (see Glossary) in which she attempted to explain that the Facebook Messages were academic and philosophical conversations
• She sent copies of Apologia to CBC reporter Ms. Ward and to Nanda, but neither gave any indication they had read it
• For every 1,000 readers of a CBC article, only one person read Apologia
Testimony About the Effect on Caylan
Immediate Aftermath
• The events of March 18 were life‑changing for Caylan; people online said she should die or be “shot into space”
• Friends abandoned her out of fear of backlash
• She was the family’s primary breadwinner and suddenly had no employment
Attempts to Respond Publicly
• She continued writing and tried to find an editor or journalist willing to publish her material; none would take it on or were permitted to publish it
• She felt her survival depended on “writing her way out of the hole,” but this proved impossible
• She became self‑conscious about writing because no one would publish her work
Social and Personal Isolation
• She felt as though she was in “eternal exile”
• Her social life collapsed immediately; she was removed from Christmas party lists
• People told her they did not want to appear to be supporting a “white supremacist”
• Her husband Jared attempted to organize a surprise birthday party for her, but no one would attend
• Friends said they were afraid to socialize with her because it would appear to be supporting her
• She described herself as sitting “in the ruin” of her life—treated like a pariah and very alone
• She felt like a ghost, existing somewhere between living and dying, and felt she no longer belonged in Alberta or Canada
Online Abuse and Media Repetition
• Brutal posts and tweets about her were ubiquitous on social media
• Canada’s largest publications repeatedly portrayed her as a horrible person
• She received hostile emails telling her she was trash, worthless, or should die
• She did have a small number of private supporters
Support From Individuals
• Sadiq (see Glossary) called her every day for months after March 18
• Jared tried to encourage and support her
• When she and Sadiq visited the Ranchmen’s Club, a friend told them a waiter was tweeting that he never thought he would have anything to do with Caylan
Loss of Hope for Redemption
• She hoped for several months that she could redeem herself, but by autumn 2019 it became clear she could not
• She experienced acute anxiety episodes similar to PTSD
• When applying for jobs, she struggled with how to explain what had happened in 2019
Psychological Impacts
• At times while driving she had to pull over because she felt she was losing her mind
• She experienced episodes where she could not speak and felt mentally disintegrated
• She was gripped by terror, hopelessness, and despair
• She lost her self‑esteem, her earning capacity, and her friendships
• She gave up hope that justice would be done and began “looking toward the other shores,” wanting to die
• For relief she hiked in the mountains; in winter 2019 she climbed a high mountain, lay in the snow, and asked to die
Cognitive Impairment
• She felt she was losing her mind and could not control her thoughts
• Her ability to concentrate was severely diminished; she would read and realize she retained nothing
• At times Jared would speak and she “wasn’t there”
• She recognized her own cognitive dissonance
• She suffered acute and severe depression
Employment Consequences
• Her maternity leave ended shortly after her resignation
• She sought re‑employment with Global Affairs but was not hired
• She made many job applications but received no replies
• Anyone Googling her name saw only derogatory statements; her name was “toxic”
• As the primary breadwinner, the financial stress was severe
• In 2019 her income was $38,000, with legal fees and school expenses
• In 2020 her income was $50,000—insufficient to support a family of four
• Because of her reputational damage, employment in fields for which she was qualified was impossible
Attempts to Pursue Further Education
• She considered returning to postgraduate studies and applied to the University of Calgary; she received no reply
• She applied for a professorial position at the University of Calgary; she never heard back
• Search results for her name made her unemployable
Testimony About the Non‑Existent NDP
Legal Identity Issues
• Caylan wanted to sue the NDP for its role in the events of March 18 but learned that the Alberta NDP does not exist as a legal entity
• She was seeking a remedy against a party that legally did not exist; no entity was responsible for its conduct
• Identifying a responsible party required multiple court proceedings, including an appeal to the Alberta Court of Appeal
• the legal proceedings concerning NDP extended for years and entailed significant legal fees
The “Straw Man”
• Ultimately, the non‑existent party appointed a “straw man” to accept responsibility for the 2018 conduct
• The straw man was supposedly indemnified by an entity that Caylan knew did not exist
• She settled with the straw man
About the UCP in Power
• After the UCP was elected, many UCP volunteers and campaign staff obtained government employment
• Defeated UCP candidates were appointed to senior positions in the new administration
• Caylan was never contacted by the UCP
Comment:
Credibility was essential to Caylan’s life; her credibility was destroyed by false allegations. It was impossible to correct the false allegations. Deep depression and despair understandably overwhelmed Caylan.