On Nov. 19, Kerry Diotte, a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in Alberta, filed a defamation lawsuit against the Gateway, the University of Alberta’s (U of A) student newspaper. Diotte is seeking $150,000 in damages to his reputation.
Diotte filed the lawsuit shortly after the Gateway posted an apology at the top of the articles of concern and retracted specific comments in the articles that referred to Diotte as racist. Diotte’s legal action against a student newspaper, especially after the Gateway took measures to rectify the situation, is a blatant attack on student journalism and freedom of the press.
Public figures such as politicians will always have their public critics and decriers. It’s a natural part of being a figure in the public eye.
Student newspapers do not have the budget to be able to survive being sued for $150,000. Many of them are independent organizations with volunteer reporters, and are funded through public means, such as through a small student levy and a small advertising budget. The Gateway took swift measures to resolve the situation and placate Diotte—these efforts don’t appear to have been acknowledged by the MP.
For Diotte to specifically target a small publication such as a student newspaper—especially after the paper’s staff apologized and revised the articles—with a hefty lawsuit sends the message that public criticism is not welcome by public authority figures.
The Charlatan editorial staff stands in solidarity with the Gateway as they handle this difficult case with Diotte.
This lawsuit isn’t simply a way to protect Diotte’s reputation; at its core, it is bullying. There are more productive ways for an MP to handle conflict—suing student journalists is not one of them.
