CANADA
Georgia Straight
by Carlito Pablo on June 22nd, 2015
The northern B.C. town of Burns Lake may not have gotten a mention in John Furlong’s autobiographical book, but according to the former Vancouver Olympics CEO, it’s a special place for him.
“My time in Burns Lake is precious to me,” Furlong said in his first day of testimony in the defamation suit filed against him by freelance journalist Laura Robinson.
Robinson was the author of “John Furlong biography omits secret past in Burns Lake”, an article published in the Georgia Straight on September 27, 2012.
According to the article, the former Vanoc boss first came to Canada in 1969, five years earlier than 1974, the year Furlong wrote in Patriot Hearts that he and his family arrived.
The story also reported on eight sworn affidavits by former students of Furlong at the Immaculata Elementary School, alleging that the native of Ireland taunted, bullied, and hurt First Nations students.
On the day Robinson’s story came out in the Straight, Furlong explained why he didn’t mention Burns Lake in his book.
“My time in Burns Lake was fairly brief and fairly uneventful,” Furlong said at a news conference.
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