Harassment case against Peterson dismissed
Woman apologizes for filing suit against former Ontario premier, but not for the allegations
A one-time Pan Am Games employee who filed a now-dismissed $3-million sexual harassment claim against former premier David Peterson apologized for the lawsuit but not for the allegations.
“I never apologized for the allegations,” Ximena Morris said of her claims, which Peterson consistently denied and which were never proven in court.
“In order for me to move on with my life, I had to apologize for instituting the lawsuit,” Morris said in a statement Tuesday night. “I could not continue with the cost of litigation.
“No matter the outcome, I won. The moment I went public and broke the shackles of silence they had confined me to, I won. I am still standing, I’ve regained my sense of self, and my dignity and integrity are shining,” the former Pan Am manager said.
“I stood up for myself and for women in the workplace and I do not regret it for one second.”
News of the settlement was made public Tuesday in a release from Torys LLP, the law firm that represented Peterson.
“Ms. Morris has issued an apology to David Peterson and his wife, Shelley Peterson, for having launched the lawsuit,” the statement said. “We have maintained from the beginning that this lawsuit was completely without merit. Sexual harassment is intolerable.”
The case was dismissed Oct. 12 by the Ontario Superior Court. Both sides agreed to dismiss costs. Peterson did not comment. “We maintained from the outset that this action was brought solely to embarrass Mr. Peterson, as a well-known public figure, for the purpose of extracting funds from him and the co-defendants and attempting to bring notoriety to Ms. Morris,” said Lisa Talbot of Torys in an interview.
Talbot said Morris had used a threat of litigation and the threat of going to the media in an attempt to extract money from Peterson, who served as chair of the TO2015 Pan American and Para Pan American Games.
“On Aug.13, 2015, Ms. Morris’s counsel called counsel for TO2015 threatening to issue a statement of claim and to immediately disclose the allegations to the press if the defendants did not pay Ms. Morris $500,000 within half an hour,” Talbot said.
“When the defendants did not accept Ms. Morris’s demand, Ms. Morris and her counsel had the statement of claim issued immediately and went to the press.”
Morris’s lawyer, Rocco Achampong, said he had no comment on that particular allegation. Achampong said Torys was “re-victimizing” his client by rushing a news release to the media in the wake of the ruling to dismiss the lawsuit.
In an affidavit on her financial standing filed with the court on Sept. 28, 2016, Morris said she was “unemployed and in dire financial straits.”
“My current source of income is employment insurance, which provides me with $1,840 on a monthly basis to pay for all my living needs, inclusive of shelter,” the affidavit said, noting Achampong “agreed to represent me pro bono given that I cannot access justice otherwise.”
Her affidavit adds that “finding employment has also proven difficult,” noting she “was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder stemming from my experience at TO2015 and subsequent press coverage” and was seeing a doctor.
Morris concluded her affidavit by saying she could not “seek redress for wrongs committed … if a costs award financially ruins me.”
“As I stand now as a ruin, I will be reduced to rubble.”
She had been seeking $2 million in general damages and $1 million in punitive, aggravated, and exemplary damages, according to court documents.
Talbot, Peterson’s lawyer, said Morris had failed to prosecute the case over the course of two years and that “the whole matter was absolutely unfortunate and should never have happened.”
In May, Peterson put forward a motion in court to impose a timetable and enforce a discovery plan to move the case forward. The motion compelled Morris to provide “proper and complete” answers to questions that needed answering to continue.
In throwing out Morris’s lawsuit against Peterson and other Pan Am executives Saad Rafi, Karen Hacker and Amir Remtulla, the Ontario Superior Court also dismissed Peterson’s counterclaim for abuse of process and defamation, on the consent of both parties, without costs.
Morris was the Games’ manager for external partnerships, manager for official languages, and manager for talent services and scheduling for the opening and closing ceremonies.
She had alleged that Peterson inappropriately embraced her and made publicly humiliating comments about her appearance at work events. As well, she claimed her complaints to Pan Am Games human resources and senior officials were met with a shrug and that she was told to “let it roll off your back.”
Peterson always maintained nothing untoward happened.
At Queen’s Park, Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, Peterson’s sister-inlaw, said the family was heartened that the case was thrown out.
“We’re all very happy to see a resolution of this issue,” said Matthews, whose sister is Shelley Peterson.
When asked about the two-year ordeal, she said, “It’s been tough for sure, but David felt very strongly that an unfounded allegation should not go unchallenged.” With files from Kristin Rushowy