The Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court has sided with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation in its bid to have a sexual harassment case involving a former NWT premier heard in Quebec.
In a ruling released Thursday, Justice Peter Browne wrote that the case will face fewer procedural barriers in Quebec than in Newfoundland and Labrador.
SA国际影视传媒淣one of the parties has a substantial connection to Newfoundland and Labrador,SA国际影视传媒� Browne said. SA国际影视传媒淭he only connecting factor is that the parties were participants in a meeting held here in the summer of 2018.SA国际影视传媒�
Cherry Smiley alleges she was sexually harassed in June 2018 in St. JohnSA国际影视传媒檚 by former Northwest Territories premier Stephen Kakfwi.
Kakfwi was her appointed mentor at the time through a Trudeau Foundation scholarship program, and the harassment allegedly occurred at a multi-day foundation event.
Kathryn Marshall, SmileySA国际影视传媒檚 lawyer, filed the statement of claim with Newfoundland and LabradorSA国际影视传媒檚 Supreme Court, but lawyers for the Montreal-based foundation argued that it should be heard in Quebec.
A hearing about the jurisdictional dispute was held in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court on June 6. During the hearing, Marshall argued that the claim should be heard in Newfoundland and Labrador since thatSA国际影视传媒檚 where the incidents allegedly occurred.
She said the case could be sunk if it was ordered to play out in Quebec. Smiley is a graduate student, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 unlikely she could afford the cost of translating documents into French or find a new, French-speaking lawyer, she argued.
Browne disagreed. SA国际影视传媒淚t may lead to some additional costs and inefficiencies initially but the litigation is still in its early stages,SA国际影视传媒� he wrote.
In an interview, Marshall said she was disappointed with BrowneSA国际影视传媒檚 decision, adding that she was still concerned his ruling would prompt her client to end her case. But her misgivings and criticisms are with the Trudeau foundation and the court system, not with Browne, she said.
SA国际影视传媒淭he Trudeau foundation has refused to do the right thing from Day 1,SA国际影视传媒� Marshall said. SA国际影视传媒淭his is their responsibility. They failed my client.SA国际影视传媒�
The suit was originally filed in 2021 with the Supreme Court of British Columbia, where Smiley is a member of the NlakaSA国际影视传媒檖amux Nation and of the DineSA国际影视传媒� Nation, according to court documents. But Lawyers from the Trudeau foundation opposed that jurisdiction, and Marshall agreed to withdraw the case from the B.C. courts. She filed in Newfoundland and Labrador instead.
The case has now been tied up in the courts in two provinces over several years, which has re-traumatized Smiley, she said. If Smiley continues, SA国际影视传媒渟heSA国际影视传媒檚 going to have to completely restart her case in Quebec, a province where she is not proficient in the language. SheSA国际影视传媒檚 going to have to find a brand-new lawyer, sheSA国际影视传媒檚 going to have to start from scratch. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 just not right.SA国际影视传媒�
She said the Canadian justice system needs to do more work to recognize the SA国际影视传媒渦nique experienceSA国际影视传媒� of sexual assault and harassment survivors, and to more deeply consider that experience in its proceedings.
The lawsuit names Kakfwi and the Trudeau foundation as defendants. It says that during a three-day Trudeau foundation event in St. JohnSA国际影视传媒檚, Kakfwi twice pulled Smiley close to his body and SA国际影视传媒済rabbed her upper arm near her breast.SA国际影视传媒� It says he then squeezed and massaged her arm SA国际影视传媒渇or an extended period.SA国际影视传媒� He also repeatedly invited her to his home in Yellowknife, once while holding her upper arm, according to the statement of claim.
The document also alleges some foundation officials accused her of SA国际影视传媒渂lowing things out of proportion,SA国际影视传媒� pressured her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, and defamed her.
In a statement of defence, Kakfwi has denied any contact with Smiley that SA国际影视传媒渃ould be construed as being sexual in nature.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒擝y Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press
