Trudeau Foundation effort to move sexual harassment lawsuit could sink the case, argues lawyer
CBC
A lawyer says the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation's attempt to move a sexual harassment case to Quebec is an effort to delay the proceedings and end the lawsuit.
Kathryn Marshall, with the Toronto law firm Levitt Sheikh, argued in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Tuesday that the alleged misconduct took place in Newfoundland and Labrador, so the case should be heard there. Marshall represents Cherry Smiley, who alleges she was sexually harassed by former Northwest Territories premier Stephen Kakfwi in St. John's, N.L., in 2018.
Kakfwi was Smiley's appointed mentor through a scholarship program offered by the Trudeau Foundation.
Marshall called it "very unusual" for the court's jurisdiction to be challenged, especially when the misconduct is alleged to have occurred in the province. "I believe in this case, it is a tactic on the Trudeau Foundation's part to delay and cause Cherry Smiley to just give up," she said in an interview during a break in the hearing.
Colm St. Roch Seviour, a lawyer for the foundation, argued that the lawsuit involves an alleged breach of contract and falls under the jurisdiction of the Quebec courts. The foundation and its scholarship program are based in Montreal, he said, so both the scholarship agreement and the contract between Kakfwi and the foundation were governed by Quebec law.
"The scholarship is the centre of the universe, in one respect," he told the courtroom. "The agreement addresses the mentorship that was to be in place."
Marshall argued that the alleged sexual misconduct is at the centre of the case, not the scholarship or its contracts.
She said her client would likely have to drop her lawsuit if a judge determines the trial should be moved to Quebec, noting that Smiley would have to hire a French-speaking lawyer and pay for translation services.
"Her ability pay, to hire a Quebec lawyer to team up with me, that ability does not exist," Marshall told the court. Smiley is a student and the Trudeau Foundation is a high-profile organization with ample resources, she added.
"I think we cannot ignore the massive inequality between the parties when it comes to access to financial resources," Marshall said.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2021 with the Supreme Court of British Columbia, where Smiley is a member of the Nlaka'pamux Nation and of the Dine' Nation, according to court documents.
Lawyers from the Trudeau Foundation opposed the jurisdiction and said it should be argued in Quebec. Marshall agreed to withdraw the case from the B.C. courts but filed it with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in March 2022.
The lawsuit names Kakfwi and the Trudeau Foundation as defendants. In a statement of defence, Kakfwi has denied any contact with Smiley that "could be construed as being sexual in nature."
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