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Saturday, August 18, 2012

The greater part of valour

On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 I received in person on letterhead from Hodder Barristers, a Toronto law firm, the following communication:


Dear Ms. Barber:

Re: Trinity Global Support Foundation v. Gina Barber

We act for Trinity Global Support Foundation. Please find enclosed our client's notice of intended action dated August 9,2012, pursuant to s. 5 of the Libel and Slander Act. Our client asks for an apology, retraction and correction.

We expect that, should you wish to write about Trinity Global Support Foundation in the future, you will take a more balanced view of the situation.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my client's position on your publications and about what the true facts are.

Yours very truly,

HODDER BARRISTERS

(SIGNATURE)

per: J. Gardner Hodder
JGH/III
Encl.

The enclosure was a 6 page document which began as follows:

ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

BETWEEN:
TRINITY GLOBAL SUPPORT FOUNDATION
Intended plaintiff
and

GINA BARBER 
Intended defendant 
 NOTICE OF INTENDED ACTION

TAKE NOTICE THAT pursuant to subsection 5(t) of the Libel and Slander Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.L.12, the intended plaintiff Trinity Global Support Foundation complains of and objects to your publication on the website http://ginabarber.blogspot.ca/2012/07/guilt-by-association.html made on July 25, 2012, as being libellous of it.

Trinity Global Support Foundation objects and complains that the publication in its entirety was libellous of it, and in particular the following words:

Guilt by association?....

(There followed a reprint of about 90% or more of the original post.)

I have asked Hodder Barristers for clarification of which statements and facts are in dispute and am awaiting their response. In the meantime, a number of readers have posted further comments on the blog as they became aware of the intended legal action. Although I welcome your comments, I will avoid publishing them for the time being until the situation becomes clearer. I apologize for this disruption of the usual processing and publication of readers` viewpoints.

Discretion is the greater part of valour.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would someone please explain to me exactly how one would balance the view, when poor children have less and wealthy ones have more? Do you balance the view by reporting malicious unsubstantiated slanderous comments about the character and integrity of welfare recipients, who by the way, don't have any access to civil court because that costs money.

Anonymous said...

S.G. Tallentyre (not Voltaire) once wrote : "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". I suspect those lawyers never heard of that quote. What a Chilling effect that letter has on freedom of speech.

On the plus side, for what is it worth, the old adage in journalism was you know for sure you made it to the mainstream and/or big time when you are first sued.

Raymond J.Day said...

Keep up the good work .
I look forward to reading your column , knowing you are the eyes and ears to what goes on at city hall. all the best.
Raymond J. Day

Anonymous said...

Hi Gina, Sort of sorry for the legal case against you, but the sympathy can only go so far because the frivolity of the suit boggles the mind. However I did comment on your original posting about the Trinity Fund. Although I am somewhat reticent to use my real name I am quite willing to testify or write an affidavit attesting that my critical comment was based on internet research I did after the connection was made between the mayor and the fund, which is clearly public and indisputable. Although your reference to the fund piqued my interest, any ire expressed in my comment was generated from seeing the Global Fund website and the YouTube video which promotes the "tax savings" that the fund provides. All the best and have fun.