Harper moves to dismiss 'frivolous' lawsuit by Guergis
By Meagan Fitzpatrick, CBC News
Posted: May 11, 2012 6:05 PM ET
Last Updated: May 11, 2012 6:30 PM ET
Prime Minister Stephen Harper filed a court motion Friday seeking to have the lawsuit against him by former Conservative cabinet member Helena Guergis thrown out. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)
Related
Prime Minister Stephen Harper filed a motion in court Friday to get Helena Guergis's "frivolous" lawsuit against him dismissed.
"The action is frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process and accordingly should be stayed or dismissed," the court document obtained by CBC News says.
The document notes that Guergis filed a complaint against the prime minister with the Canada Human Rights Commission in May 2011, a year after she resigned from cabinet due to the controversy that emerged in April 2010. She lost the complaint and Harper's court motion says she then set out to launch the lawsuit.
Harper's motion to strike out the lawsuit comes two days after a similar one filed by his former chief of staff, Guy Giorno, who is also being sued by Guergis. The motion is also on behalf of Labour Minister Lisa Raitt, Conservative MP Shelly Glover and Ray Novak, Harper’s principal secretary, who are all named in Guergis's lawsuit.
Guergis's lawsuit, launched in December, makes claims of conspiracy, defamation, misfeasance in public office, negligence and infliction of mental suffering. She is also suing Arthur Hamilton, the Conservative party's lawyer, the Conservative Party of Canada, Hamilton’s law firm Cassels Brock and Blackwell, and Derrick Snowdy, the private investigator who helped kick off the controversy surrounding Guergis and her husband, Rahim Jaffer in April 2010.
Harper's motion to have the court dismiss the lawsuit says Guergis's claims are not subject to the judicial process but rather, relate to the exercise of Crown prerogative, and Parliamentary privilege.
The court document seeks to debunk Guergis's claims and allegations and says "it is plain and obvious" that her lawsuit "discloses no reasonable cause of action" against the defendants.
She claims she resigned as the minister of state for the status of women under pressure from Harper and that she shouldn't have been kicked out of the Conservative caucus or prevented from running as a Conservative candidate. Harper argues that decisions about cabinet, caucus and candidates are not legal matters.
When Guergis left cabinet she sat as an Independent MP, she ran as an independent candidate in the May 2011 election and lost.
Guergis alleges that Harper, Novak and Giorno defamed her in a letter they were involved in sending to the RCMP regarding allegations they were made aware of through Snowdy. Harper says in the motion that the statements were made "by a high officer of the state to another officer of the state," they relate to state matters and are therefore protected by the doctrine of absolute privilege.
RCMP letter is protected by privilege
The letter, sent to former RCMP Commissioner William Elliott on April 9, 2010 by Novak and on behalf of Harper, is included in the court documents. It says Harper's office was made aware of allegations the night before by Snowdy concerning conduct by Guergis and Jaffer.
"The allegations are numerous and include fraud, extortion, obtaining benefits by false pretences and involvement in prostitution. The extent of the allegations makes it impossible for me to summarise them completely in this brief letter," it states.
"Our office has no first-hand knowledge of these allegations and our office has not communicated directly with Mr. Snowdy," it goes on to say.
In her statement of claim, Guergis denies all of the allegations.
Novak says he had been informed that Snowdy has evidence to corroborate his allegations and that the information had already been shared with the RCMP and OPP, "but I want to ensure that you are aware of it."
The RCMP later cleared Guergis of any wrongdoing.
Guergis lost human rights complaint
In general, the motion to toss out the lawsuit says Guergis hasn't shown the facts to sustain the allegations made in her lawsuit.
For example, she claims Harper and the others intentionally inflicted mental suffering but hasn't provided particulars relating to "any alleged visible and provable illness," the motion says.
Guergis is suing for general damages of $800,000 plus punitive damages of $250,000 and aggravated damages of $250,000.
Harper's motion says Guergis is trying to relitigate several issues that were already decided by the Canada Human Rights Commission in May 2011.
The complaint was dismissed in November 2011 and it determined that "the decision to remove [Guergis] from cabinet was not justiciable as it was made pursuant to a Crown prerogative," according to Harper's court document, and that the decision to remove her from caucus is also not subject to the courts and is protected by Parliamentary privilege.
Harper says the lawsuit was only launched after Guergis lost her case against him at the human rights commission and that it is "an abuse of process" to have the case in the courts.
The hearing to argue the motions filed by Harper and Giorno is scheduled for September. Guergis's lawyer says he will vigorously defend against the motions.
Share Tools
Power & Politics' Ballot Box question by Rosemary Barton May. 17, 2013 3:52 PM Should Mike Duffy give up his Senate seat?
Top News Headlines
- Senator Pamela Wallin leaves Conservative caucus
- Senator Pamela Wallin says she is recusing herself from the Conservative caucus while her travel expense claims are under scrutiny. Wallin's departure comes one day after Senator Mike Duffy left the Tory caucus amid controversy over his expense claims. more »
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford cancels weekly radio show
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will not be hosting his weekly radio show this weekend after explosive allegations that he was recorded on video appearing to smoke crack cocaine. more »
- WHO concerned coronavirus spreading person to person
- The World Health Organization has issued a blunt assessment of the coronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia, acknowledging for the first time that there are concerns the virus may be spreading from person to person, at least in a limited way. more »
- Body found after fishing boat capsizes off New Brunswick
- A man's body has been found after a lobster fishing boat capsized off the eastern coast of New Brunswick. more »
Must Watch
Latest Politics News Headlines
- Email is proof Senate green-lighted expenses, Brazeau says
- Senator Patrick Brazeau, in an interview with CBC Radio's The House, says the Senate gave him the green light to claim expenses for his secondary residence in Ottawa in an email dated March 8, 2011 — the same $48,000 expenses a Senate report says he has to pay back. more »
- Senator Pamela Wallin leaves Conservative caucus
- Senator Pamela Wallin says she is recusing herself from the Conservative caucus while her travel expense claims are under scrutiny. Wallin's departure comes one day after Senator Mike Duffy left the Tory caucus amid controversy over his expense claims. more »
- First Nations schools report points to education gap
- First Nations' schools have lower quality teaching, an inferior curriculum and fail to provide proper services for children with special needs — and without further investment these problems could worsen with an expected population spike on reserves, a new federal report warns. more »
- Duffy's Senate expenses may get 2nd look from auditors
- Senator Mike Duffy's expenses may get a second review by independent auditors following media reports regarding expenses he claimed while campaigning for Conservative candidates during the last election. more »
- Chris Hall: Senator Duffy and the little matter of accountability
- A $90,000 'gift' from Stephen Harper's chief of staff to Mike Duffy didn't fix the political problem over the senator's questionable expenses, Chris Hall writes. It just made matters worse and opens the door to questions about prime ministerial accountability. more »
The National
The House
- Questions mount for Harper and chief of staff Nigel Wright in Senate scandal May. 18, 2013 1:15 PM This week on The House, with Senators Wallin and Duffy now out of the Conservative caucus, we get reaction from NDP Ethics critic Charlie Angus. We also hear directly from Senator Patrick Brazeau who says the Conservatives have thrown him under the bus. Plus we speak with B.C. Premier Christy Clark after her stunning victory.
- Senator Pamela Wallin leaves Conservative caucus
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies crack cocaine allegations
- Milwaukee bar wins overturn of bra ban
- Tim Bosma public memorial Wednesday in Hamilton, Ont.
- Public raising funds to buy alleged Rob Ford crack video
- Afghan legislators block law protecting women
- Sailor fighting cancer says AWOL charges dropped
- Dennis Oland named as prime suspect in father's slaying
- RCMP has 'no interest' in discussing harassment suit settlement


