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Jason Kenney Loses Bid to Dismiss Defamation Case Filed by Environmental Groups

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Sakchi Khandelwal
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Former premier Jason Kenney has lost his bid to have a defamation lawsuit against him by five environmental groups thrown out.
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Image Credit: CBC

Court rules against former Alberta premier's attempt to have defamation lawsuit thrown out.

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Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney has been unsuccessful in his bid to have a defamation case, brought against him by five environmental groups, dismissed by the court. In a judgment released by Court of King's Bench Justice Avril Inglis on Wednesday, it was determined that Kenney's comments regarding the findings of the "anti-Alberta activities inquiry" in 2021 were clear and directly targeted the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit stems from an inquiry initiated by the United Conservative government, led by Kenney at the time, into the activities of environmental groups in Alberta. Accusations were made by media commentators, conservative politicians, and Kenney himself, claiming that the groups conspired to use foreign funding to hinder Alberta's oilsands through the dissemination of false information about their environmental impact.

The inquiry, headed by Calgary forensic accountant Steve Allan, ultimately found no evidence of such a conspiracy. In October 2021, Allan released a report stating that the groups were exercising their freedom of speech and that the amount of foreign funding used in anti-oilsands campaigns was approximately $3.5 million per year—equivalent to the cost of Allan's inquiry.

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However, despite these findings, Kenney took to social media on the same day to assert that "foreign-funded misinformation campaigns" had caused hardship for energy workers and their families, linking to Alberta government websites that made similar claims about the existence of well-funded foreign interests aiming to restrict Alberta's oil and gas resources.

In the defamation suit, Kenney's lawyer argued that the social media posts did not directly name the groups involved since their names were separated from the posts on the government website by embedded links. However, Justice Inglis disagreed, emphasizing that the use of embedded links instead of paragraph returns did not exempt Kenney from the protections of defamation law.

The court's decision affirms that there are no uncertainties regarding the facts or the law in this matter, allowing the defamation case against Kenney to proceed.

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Defamation Case Proceeds Against Jason Kenney

Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney faces a legal battle as the court rules against his attempt to have the defamation case brought by environmental groups dismissed. The judgment asserts the clarity of Kenney's statements and their direct reference to the plaintiffs, paving the way for the case to move forward.

Court Rejects Defense Argument on Embedded Links

The court's ruling rejects the defense's argument that the use of embedded links in social media posts prevented a reasonable person from identifying the targeted environmental groups. Justice Inglis emphasizes that the protections of defamation law cannot be evaded through such technicalities.

Legal Battle Defamation Case Court Ruling Jason Kenney environmental groups Alberta politics
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