Far-right candidate loses bid to run ads

Far-right Toronto mayoral candidate Faith Goldy cannot force Bell Media to sell her ads on its CP24 television news station, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday.

The main problem is that Goldy, represented by prominent civil rights lawyer Clayton Ruby, brought her complaint to the wrong court.

The CRTC, which regulates broadcasting in Canada, has an expert tribunal for considering complaints. Goldy knew this, but failed to file a complaint with the CRTC, arguing instead that the Ontario Superior Court should hear the case because of its urgency.

This did not fly with Judge Peter Cavanagh, who heard the emergency motion on Monday and released his 22-page ruling Tuesday. He found that the CRTC has “exclusive jurisdiction to grant the relief sought,” and declined to intervene.

“The entire application should be heard by the CRTC,” he wrote.

Although the CRTC has resolved cases in as little as a week, it now seems unlikely Goldy’s case can be sorted out before Toronto’s Oct. 22 election, in which she is one of 35 candidates for mayor.

Goldy is a former journalist who has built an online following by promoting conspiracy theories about Muslims and other non-European Canadians, and pushing a theory that immigration is causing “white genocide.” She has endorsed a white supremacist slogan and appeared on a neo-Nazi podcast, leading to her firing from The Rebel Media.

Last month she paid Bell to broadcast her campaign ads, but the broadcaster refunded her money before they ran. Bell offered no reasons, although in its defence to her lawsuit it referred to rules against hate speech, offensive materials and false or misleading messages. It also said it received over 80 written complaints and 15 voicemails, leading it to think it would suffer commercial harm if it ran the ads.

“I do not question that the application raises important issues for Ms. Goldy’s electoral campaign as a candidate for Mayor of Canada’s largest city, and for candidates, broadcasters and others in future elections, involving the ability of candidates to meaningfully participate in the electoral process and the ability of all voters to be reasonably informed of all possible choices before them,” Judge Cavanagh wrote.

“This was not about jurisdiction. This was about political prejudice,” Goldy said. “This was a Superior Court judge on a whim deciding not to hear our case, not because he couldn’t, because he wouldn’t.”

She disputed that the CRTC, which she called a “kangaroo court,” could have heard her case in time, as it only offered her the chance to make written arguments.

The day before her application was heard, Goldy revealed that Rogers Media had also refused her ads and refunded her money.