U of R professor defamed author for calling book ‘racist garbage,’ judge says

WATCH: A University of Regina professor has been found liable for defamation after calling a book critical of the Neil Stonechild inquiry “racist garbage.”

A University of Regina professor has been found liable for defamation after calling a book critical of the Neil Stonechild inquiry “racist garbage.”

The book’s author, Candis McLean, filed the lawsuit eight years ago.

Justice Neil Robertson issued his written decision on June 13 at the Regina Court of King’s Bench.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to get this decision,” McLean said in an interview with CTV News.

McLean’s 2016 book, When Police Become Prey: The Cold, Hard Facts of Neil Stonechild’s Freezing Death, challenged the findings of the inquiry into Stonechild’s death. The inquiry concluded the 17-year-old from Saulteaux First Nation was taken into custody by two Saskatoon police officers on the night he froze to death in November 1990.

The book claims to clear the names of the two officers who were fired from the Saskatoon Police Service as part of the broader “Starlight Tours” scandal, where police were accused of dropping Indigenous people on the outskirts of the city in freezing temperatures.

When McLean planned book signings in Saskatchewan, they were met with backlash from the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism. University of Regina professor Michelle Stewart was among those opposed, urging venues to cancel the signings. She also called the book “racist garbage” on Facebook.

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In his ruling, Justice Robertson found Stewart made the post without reading the book.

“Having read the book, I do not find that it is racist,” he wrote.

He added that while the comment targeted the book, the term “racist” could reasonably be associated with its author.

“If a reasonable person believed that the book was racist, they might then believe that the author was as well,” Robertson said.

He noted that “racist” is a “highly charged word” and should not be “thrown around carelessly.”

Stewart was also found liable for inducing a breach of contract by contacting venues and urging them to cancel McLean’s events. McLean sought $165,642 in damages.

The court awarded her $6,450, including $1,000 in general damages for defamation, $3,000 for inducing breach of contract, and $2,450 in actual damages related to the cancellations.

She was not awarded any additional special, aggravated or punitive damages.

McLean said while she’s “disappointed” with the amount, her lawyer reminded her they were fighting for “the principle of free speech.”

“I’m hoping that the activists will now realize there are limits to their behavior,” she said.

“They deserve freedom of speech, but not to the point where it impinges on others.”

CTV News reached out to Stewart and her lawyer but did not get a response by publication.