Tory MP says he isn’t racist, sues student newspaper
EDMONTON • Alberta Conservative MP Kerry Diotte is suing the University of Alberta student newspaper over a pair of articles that he claims have defamed him.
On Nov. 19, Diotte filed a statement of claim against The Gateway Student Journalism Society, which publishes the U of A’s student newspaper.
Diotte takes issue with a pair of articles published on the newspaper’s website earlier this month.
“The plaintiff, Kerry Diotte, asserts that he is not a racist and that (the articles) stand to defame his character,” the statement of claim says. Statements of claim contain allegations not proven in court.
The first article was published Nov. 2 on The Gateway’s website.
It was written after U of A Students’ Union president Reed Larsen tweeted a photo of himself with Diotte at a Canadian Alliance of Student Associations’ meeting in October. According to the statement of claim, the article included a passage that said, “Several U of A students voiced concern over Larsen’s meeting with Diotte, who has a history of making racist remarks.”
The article pointed to social media posts Diotte has made about ex-Rebel Media contributor Faith Goldy, who was fired after appearing on a podcast of the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website. It goes on to reference a 2016 tweet from Diotte about a bingo card with which he “played along” during question period. The card included the terms “Syrians” and “First Nations.”
The second article was published Nov. 8, according to the claim. The editorial questioned the student union president’s judgment for appearing in “such a smiley, cuddly photo of a man who makes pals with white nationalists.”
Diotte claims the entire article is defamatory.
“The plaintiff … has been injured in his personal credit, character, and reputation as a citizen, in the practice of his profession and has been brought into public scandal, odium, and contempt,” the claim reads.
“Following the receipt of a Defamation Act notice from Mr. Diotte, an editor’s note was added to both articles on Nov. 15, retracting the statements and apologizing,” a statement on the paper’s website reads. “The Gateway is in the process of reviewing the statement of claim, and will be filing a statement of defence in due course.”