CANADA
CBC News
By Laura Kane, The Canadian Press Posted: Jun 16, 2015
A journalist who is suing former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong for defamation says she was devastated by his response to an article she wrote alleging he abused students at a northern British Columbia school more than 40 years ago.
Laura Robinson began her testimony Tuesday in her civil trial, where she is alleging that Furlong’s public comments after the story was published in the Georgia Straight newspaper have damaged her reputation, career and health.
Furlong held a news conference the day the story was published in September 2012, where he absolutely denied any wrongdoing and accused Robinson of “a shocking lack of diligence” and a “personal vendetta.”
“I was completely shocked,” Robinson testified. “It affected me in a very devastating way that someone would say those things about me.”
The Ontario-based journalist said the most shocking part was when Furlong implied she tried to extort money from him. He told reporters at the news conference that before the 2010 Winter Games, he was contacted and told that “for a payment it could be made to go away.”
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