"I -- I PASSED ON A MESSAGE FROM OUR LEGAL BRANCH, WHO HAD DISCUSSED IT WITHIN THE MINISTRY AND SAID THEY WOULD TO A VERY LIMITED EXTENT, THAT THEY WOULD PAY A SMALL AMOUNT TOWARDS THE --THE CASE."
FORMER CHIEF CORONER DR. JAMES YOUNG TO GOUDGE INQUIRY;
I am extremely troubled by former Chief Coroner Dr. James Young's evidence that he persuaded the Ontario government to financially back a private libel suit brought by Dr. Charles Smith against the CBC in connection with a hard-hitting documentary produced by the "Fifth Estate;"
The groundbreaking documentary, telecast on Nov. 10. 1999 was highly critical of Dr. Smith's competence and credibility. (See earlier posting: Smith and the media; Part four; Fifth Estate probe triggers plea to Premier Mike Harris for inquiry into Smith cases; Deaf ears;)
It included interviews with the mother of a deceased child, Deputy Chief Coroner Dr. James Cairns, who was very supportive of Dr. Smith, and several medical experts who were critical of Smith's work in the cases examined by the program,
I am reprinting Dr. Young's testimony to the Inquiry earlier this week in full, so that the readers of this Blog can make their own judgment of the propriety of Dr. Young's actions;.
(Inquiry lawyer): MR. MARK SANDLER: All right. Now, we see, again, skipping ahead in time a little bit, that -- that Dr. Smith has filed a statement of claim against the CBC. And it's dated February of 2000, which would be not that long after the -- the matter was originally televised. And did you become aware of the existence of the statement of claim against The Fifth Estate?
DR. JAMES YOUNG: I became aware that he was going to issue a statement of claim.
MR. MARK SANDLER: And how did you become aware of that?
DR. JAMES YOUNG: I believe he asked me whether or not the Ministry would support -- would help with the legal fees if -- if he proceeded.
MR. MARK SANDLER: And did you get back to him about that?
DR. JAMES YOUNG: I did.
MR. MARK SANDLER: And what did you tell him?
DR. JAMES YOUNG: I -- I passed on a message from our legal branch, who had discussed it within the Ministry and said they would to a very limited extent, that they would pay a small amount towards the -- the case.
MR. MARK SANDLER: And did you support the -- the determination that at least to some extent he would be financially assisted, if he chose to go that route, by the Ministry?
DR. JAMES YOUNG: I believe I probably did. I remember bringing it forward for consideration, which was first and foremost what I agreed to do. I -- I probably said to a -- some limited extent we should -- we should back him on this.
MR. MARK SANDLER: Well, the question that arises is that to a limited extent you indicated to the Ministry that we should back him on this without having heard the telecast, without have read its contents, and without being in any position to
independently form an opinion as to whether there was any merit at all to his statement of claim?
DR. JAMES YOUNG: No. First of all, I've said I don't know if I said that, whether I backed him. I may have or I may not have, but I think I did -- probably did. The other issues that were going on at the time, within government, were that we were having discussions both with coroners and pathologists about issues around liability, workplace safety, providing lawyers for other hearings, et cetera.
And -- and it was becoming a very difficult matter when -- as -- as the number of things were increasing, they were saying, You know, if we're going to do the work for government, we expect support from government in return. So I remember that being an issue at the time, and I remember supporting it for that reason, that
I felt that it was important that we back the -- the people that are doing the work for us. If we're not prepared to back them, then we're not going to have them working for us. It was that simple."
Here is what troubles this Blogster.
First, the Government of Ontario;
If in fact the Ontario government did secretly throw money into Dr. Smith's private lawsuit - even one cent - there has been an extremely grave violation of the constitutionally protected right of Canadians to Freedom of Expression.
Lawsuits against the media are very dangerous because they can have a chilling effect - and can discourage the media from reporting fearlessly while the matter is awaiting trial.
Any government that secretly uses public dollars to support a private lawsuit - especially one launched in connection with a documentary that was critical of the Chief Coroner's office which is under the aegis of Ministry of the Solicitor General - crosses a very dangerous line.
Dr. Smith kept his lawsuit hanging over the CBC for years before ultimately dropping it) - just as he had sued MacLeans for a brilliant expose on Smith by reporter Jane O'Hara only to drop it before trial; (See previous posting: Smith and the Media: Part Five; Taking on Charles Smith; A second example of fearless journalism);
At the moment, we have no proof that the government did, in fact, help fund the lawsuit - just Dr. Young's testimony under oath at the Inquiry.
But Dr. Young's testimony puts a very strong onus on the McGuinty government to clear the air and tell us whether this happened or not.
If it did occur, questions abound;
Who in the Ministry's legal department approved and facilitated the funding?
What elected officials or civil servants in the Ministry gave their approval?
Have the individuals involved been brought to account?
If not, will they be brought to account?
Has there been a breach of ethical obligations by the politicians and civil servants involved?
Now for Dr. Young.
I am astounded that alarm bells didn't go off in his head when Dr. Smith asked him to persuade the government to help fund his lawsuit against the CBC - that he didn't realize at once that such a course of action could be perceived as an abuse of his office.
In this Blogster's view, Dr. Young's actions were aggravated by the fact that he signed a letter intended for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario which had been drafted by Dr. Smith's lawyers.
Dr. Young testified that he did not change a single word of this letter in which he defended Dr. Smith on the three complaints that had been filed against him - (and one of these complaints occupied a central role in the CBC documentary that was subject to the libel suit he wanted the Ontario government to help fund).
I, personally, find it very difficult to understand why Dr. Young would have asked the government to help pay for Dr. Smith's lawsuit in light of his sworn evidence that he had not seen the broadcast, he had not read its contents, and he was not in any position to independently ascertain the merit of Dr. Smith's statement of claim.
I will leave it for the readers of this Blog to decide if they accept Dr. Young's explanation that, "If we're (the coroners and pathologists) going to do the work for the government, we expect support from government in return."
I also find it very difficult to understand why Dr. Young just couldn't say "no" to Dr. Smith.
Harold Levy; hlevy15@gmail.com.
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