Sex harassment case involving Trudeau Foundation should be heard in N.L., lawyer says
The lawyer representing a woman who alleges she was sexually harassed by a former Northwest Territories premier says her client would likely have to end her lawsuit if a judge determines the trial should be moved to Quebec.
Kathryn Marshall, with the Toronto-based law firm Levitt Sheikh, argued in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court today that the case should be heard in that province, because that is where the alleged misconduct took place.
She says her client, Cherry Smiley, would have to bear the cost and emotional strife of starting over with a search for a new lawyer who can speak both French and English in a case that has already been difficult and slow.
Smiley's statement of claim alleges she was sexually harassed in June 2018 in St. John's, N.L., by Stephen Kakfwi, who was her appointed mentor through a scholarship program offered through the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
The statement of claim was filed with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in March 2022, and names Kakfwi and the Trudeau Foundation as defendants.
Lawyer Colm St. Roch Seviour, who represents the Montreal-based foundation, says the case should be heard in Quebec because it involves an alleged breach of a contract whose terms are governed by Quebec law.
In a statement of defence, Kakfwi has denied any contact with Smiley that "could be construed as being sexual in nature."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING 9 suspects arrested in gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport: Peel police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police announced Wednesday.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Canada is expected to win 22 medals at the Paris Olympics
Canada is expected to win a total of 22 medals, including six gold, at the Paris Summer Olympics, which open on July 26.
500 Newfoundlanders wound up on the same cruise and it turned into a rocking kitchen party
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
Liberals must now sell a budget they say will help younger Canadians catch up
It's now up to the federal Liberal government to sell a spending plan it says will help younger Canadians catch up to their elders.
Father of boy accused of stabbing 2 Australian clerics saw no signs of extremism, Muslim leader says
The father of a boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics in Australia saw no signs of his son’s extremism, a Muslim community leader said on Wednesday as police began arresting suspected rioters who besieged a Sydney church demanding revenge.
Ontario woman out $30K after investing in mortgage company accused of being unlicensed
An Ontario nurse is fighting to recover tens of thousands of dollars in savings she invested in a mortgage company that has since been accused of operating without a licence.
Young New Brunswick songwriter makes appearance on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show'
Eight-year-old songwriter Zuri Hamilton from Miramichi, N.B., got to show off her talent on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' on Monday.