O.P.P Officers Sue McHale $7.4 Million

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Caledonia protester faces $7.4M suit


April 19, 2007 Canadian PressThe owner of a website critical of the provincial police force’s handling of an aboriginal occupation is facing a $7.1-million lawsuit filed by a group of 22 Ontario officers who say they have been defamed.
The officers are suing Gary McHale, the organizer of several divisive rallies in the southern Ontario town of Caledonia. The community has been living with the ongoing occupation for more than a year.
On his website, McHale criticized the provincial police officers who stopped him from hanging Canadian flags near the occupied site — saying they were violating their oath of office and treating aboriginal protesters differently than others.
Although McHale has since posted a written apology on the site, he was served with the lawsuit last week.
“As a result of the defamatory publications, the plaintiffs have and will continue to suffer damage and harm to their reputations personally and in their profession as police officers,” reads a statement of claim filed by a Toronto law firm on behalf of the 22 Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers.
“The malicious, high-handed and arrogant conduct of the defendant warrants an award of punitive damages.”
The website manipulated photos of one officer, attributing words to him that imply he “performs his duties as a police officer in a racist manner,” the statement of claim said.
The photos of all the 22 police officers were also posted on the site under the heading “OPP: Hang your heads in shame,” adding ``each and every . . . one of these officers are guilty of violating their oath of office and their sworn duty to the public,” the statement of claim said.
Although McHale has repeatedly been served with notices of libel by police officers regarding the contents of his website, the statement of claim said he didn’t remove the material in question but instead just posted the notice of libel.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Despite the prospect of being on the hook for $7 million in damages and other legal fees on top of that, McHale said he’s not worried.
“Maybe they’re hoping that (when) facing the legal costs of paying a lawyer, we’ll just shut down the website,” McHale said.
John Findlay, McHale’s Hamilton lawyer, said he questions why the lawsuit is claiming $7.1 million in damages from the unemployed computer programmer who runs the website primarily from donations.
“It just seems like a lot of money,” he said.
Although he doesn’t live in Caledonia, McHale has been a vocal critic of the ongoing occupation in saying police are not treating aboriginal protesters as harshly as others who break the law.
The lawsuit comes as Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino is being investigated by the province for an e-mail he sent to Caledonia politicians, suggesting they supported McHale’s rallies.
In the e-mail, Fantino said if any of his officers are injured as a result, he will support any lawsuit brought by them against the town and won’t support the renewal of the force’s contract to police Caledonia.
Six Nations protesters have occupied the former housing development site since February 2006. They say the land was stolen from them by the Crown over 200 years ago and they will remain on the site until it is returned.