CANADA
Vancouver Sun
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun June 15, 2015
The much-anticipated defamation trial between freelance journalist Laura Robinson and former 2010 Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong is shaping up to be fought over whether Robinson carried out her job to acceptable journalistic standards.
Robinson, slated to testify today, is suing Furlong for damaging her reputation in statements he made in 2012 and 2013, at a news conference, in interviews and in statements written to rebut an article she wrote in the Georgia Straight three years ago.
Earlier, Furlong dropped his defamation suit against Robinson over her article, which said Furlong had verbally and physically abused aboriginal students in the ’70s at a Catholic elementary school in Burns Lake in north-central B.C. It also detailed omissions on when he moved to Canada in his biographical 2011 book, Patriot Hearts.
Furlong, who attended court Monday, has said the allegations from the former students are not true.
The opening day of testimony Monday hinged on how Robinson carried out her job, with her lawyer Bryan Baynham introducing a report from former Ryerson University head of journalism John Miller that concluded she did her investigative job to acceptable standards.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.