Category: Grifters

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A Look Into Gill’s $2 Million Professional Malpractice Claim

Kulvinder Gill’s $2 million malpractice lawsuit is out, and is it ever interesting. When previously covered, just the Notice of Action was filed, but now, there’s the Statement of Claim.

Here’s some background information on what has transpired since 2020.

It alleges incompetence, negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, and an overall lack of professionalism. This covers both Gill’s defamation lawsuits — there are 2 — and her dealings with the CPSO. There’s certainly a lot to break down.

The Notice listed the value at $1.85 million, but the Claim is now for $2 million. The reason is that the demand for aggravated and/or punitive damages had risen from $100,000 to $250,000. No defence has yet been filed, but it will be worthwhile to read when it is.

Disclaimer: This is just the Statement of Claim, and nothing has yet been proven. More than likely, there is some slant in Gill’s favour. However, the content is an eye opening look into how things unfolded.

Gill says (paragraph 9) that Galati represented that he, and his junior associate, Samantha Coomara, had significant experience dealing with defamation cases and the CPSO. Apparently, he talked Gill out of using other lawyers, claiming they had: (a) limited experience; (b) conflicts of interest; and (c) never litigated in Court.

As an aside: having dealt with Coomara personally, she is incompetent, and is unfit to litigate defamation Claims. She has a limited grasp of civil procedure, and would be better off working as a clerk or secretary. She doesn’t even know what documents go in Motion Records.

Gill says (paragraph 13) that she was misled into what her retainer was to cover. She relied on a verbal agreement that it would cover both her CPSO and defamation matters.

Gill says (paragraph 19) that bringing together 23 different Defendants for her defamation case with Lamba was done to leverage larger settlements. She suggests that Galati misrepresented the situation by labelling everyone “co-conspirators”, in order to make the case stronger. Considering many Defendants didn’t even know each other, this seems like a bad faith abuse of the Court process.

Gill says (paragraph 20) that Galati’s conduct was, at least in part, designed to raise is own profile as a fighter against public health measures. She implies that she was used as a pawn to advance his own professional image. He did this to the detriment of her interests. This is something she’ll repeat over and over in the Claim.

Gill says (paragraph 23) that she wasn’t promptly notified that one of the potential Defendants had threatened to bring an anti-SLAPP Motion in response to the Notice of Libel that was sent. In other words, at least one person was quite willing to use this method. Gills states she didn’t find out until after the suit had already been thrown out. If true, it would likely mean this was withheld from her in order to prevent her from backing out of suing.

Gill says (paragraph 25) that she had no idea the Defendants would be filing anti-SLAPP Motions until they actually happened. If true, it would mean that her counsel failed to advise her of the most likely path forward. This would amount to professional malpractice. Anti-SLAPP laws are designed to quickly screen out defamation cases.

Gill says (paragraph 26) that she was never given the informed choice as to whether to proceed with the case or not. She further adds that she was unaware of the potentially crippling cost consequence (full indemnity, or 100%). If she had been, she wouldn’t have pursued the case.

Gill says (paragraph 27) that she never got the opportunity to review the Statement of Claim before it was filed in December 2020.

Gill says (paragraph 29) that she didn’t get the kind of service that the fees warranted. Instead, her defamation pleading was a “template”, or a cut-and-paste version of earlier cases. Considering the money involved, she expected far more. It’s been stated here many times that Galati simply recycles his cases.

Gill says (paragraph 34) that she only found out after the fact that Amir Attaran, in a separate proceeding, had filed his own anti-SLAPP Motion. Apparently, he had been threatening to do this for some time, but it hadn’t been communicated to her.

Gill says (paragraph 38) that she wasn’t kept in the loop as to the activity surrounding the main defamation case. She had also WRONGLY been assured in February 2021 that the anti-SLAPP Motions weren’t a threat, as they wouldn’t be considered public interest expression. That turned out to be very wrong.

Gill says (paragraph 39) that Galati waited until the last minute before her CPSO deadlines that he wanted more money. Under the circumstances, and without more time, she felt forced to go along with it.

Gill says (paragraph 41) she was never consulted regarding the documents submitted for the CPSO hearings. She adds correctly that the Ontario Court threw out her Application for Judicial Review because she hadn’t exhausted internal mechanisms first. in short, it was doomed to fail since her counsel lacked a basic understanding of jurisdiction.

Gill says (paragraph 45) that the Affidavit Galati prepared for her was largely just a cut-and-paste from the Statement of Claim. It lacked the evidence within, didn’t explain why it was necessary, and didn’t lay out the harm suffered — an essential element.

And how come there was never an Affidavit for Ashinder Lamba?

Gill says (paragraph 51) that she was finally made aware of the true costs during cross-examinations. This was well into 2021. When defamation cases in Ontario are thrown out anti-SLAPP laws, or s.137.1(7) of the Courts of Justice Act, the default position is “full indemnity”. This is 100% of Court costs. This means that a losing Plaintiff would have to pay for everything. Gill claims she wasn’t advised of this in advance, and she should have been.

Gill says (paragraph 52 and 53) that Galati advised against making more settlement offers to other Defendants. This is nonsense, given how strong anti-SLAPP laws are. Gill states she later found out that there were offers coming in, and that Galati lied to her about it. If true, this is professional misconduct.

Gill says (paragraph 56) that Galati was drinking alcohol prior to the anti-SLAPP hearing in September 2021. She says she had to ask him not to drink at the actual hearing. Now, this is just her word, but he does drink during the livestreams with Vaccine Choice Canada and Action4Canada, so it comes across as plausible.

The gif is clipped from the February 8th, 2023 stream with Tanya Gaw, at the 1:24:00 mark.

Gill says (paragraph 60) that at her November 2021 CPSO hearing, there were several observers in attendance. She found out afterwards that this had been done to generate publicity and business for the CRC. However, she didn’t want her matters to be a public spectacle.

The Claim goes on and on, but the general theme is that Gill got thoroughly incompetent representation, and from a lawyer who had other agendas. She was kept out out of the loop with regards to important decisions. Galati also apparently tried to bill her in ways that fell outside their retainer agreement.

A few other points are worth looking at in detail:

Wholehearted Media Is A Galati Front Operation

Gill takes issue with some content being broadcast by an outlet called Wholehearted Media, which she had believed was independent. She alleges that she only later found out that her counsel co-founded it, and profited from the income it generated. In fact, he sells an e-course on the site.

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with lawyers, or any professionals expressing views publicly. They have the same right to free speech. However, if there is any direct, personal involvement with any media promoting its work, that needs to be disclosed. Gill says that it wasn’t made clear.

In a July 13, 2022 stream with Vaccine Choice Canada, Galati admitted that he ran Wholehearted Media with Rajie Kabli. See the clipped version.

The earliest version of the site the Wayback Machine saved is February 2021. So, this isn’t some ancient, long running publication. The earliest story seems to be announcing the July 2020 lawsuit with Vaccine Choice Canada. And in the earlier “about” section, it’s clear who runs it.

Here’s where things get interesting.

However, when Galati was specifically confronted about Wholehearted Media in his defamation suit with Canuck Law, he said under oath that wasn’t involved in the content. If true, it would mean that the site promotes his work — as a lawyer — but that he has no say in the matter.

Don’t worry, there’s more on that later.

Cases Being Used To “Double-Dip” For Donations

Archiving sites like the Wayback Machine are a gold mine of information for researchers and investigators. Just because content is removed or changed from a site, it doesn’t really disappear.

Gill is angry (paragraph 40) that her case was being used to generate side income for her lawyer. Despite her — and Lamba — paying retainers, their case was posted next to links soliciting donations.

And how does Gill know that donations to the Constitutional Rights Centre exceeded $1 million? Most likely, because it was published previously.

Although the CRC site has since been altered, the Wayback Machine shows that the Gill/Lamba case was published. It was next to a series of links soliciting donations. Clicking on those leads to various PayPal accounts.

Gee, who posted these?

This is from the defamation case against CSASPP.

From paragraph 47 of his Affidavit (in the anti-SLAPP Motion) the online donations are listed. The PayPal records themselves are also entered into evidence.

(a) in the first four months, September to December, 2020 it received $179,505.00;
(b) in 2021 it received $786,706.00, progressively tapering down, monthly, following the Defendants’ defamation and tortious conduct against me.
(c) in 2022 it received $43,878.00.
(d) as of to date, 2023, it has received $4,537.00 which is 53% less than 2022.

Note: this Affidavit was compiled in March 2023, hence the skewed 2023 number.

Starting on page 186 of the Transcript Brief, question 116, it gets into the income in recent years. It’s admitted that donations to the site were large, including over $786,000 in the year 2021.

During the CSASPP anti-SLAPP Motion, Galati refused to specify how much of the $1 million in PayPal donations went to him personally. He also refused to give a full accounting of what his total earnings were during that period. Refusing to disclose particulars contributed to that case being thrown out.

Now, in her malpractice suit, Gill is referencing these online donations to demonstrate a conflict of interest with her representation. Her case had been used — presumably without her permission — to solicit funds for the CRC.

Gill alleges that this amounts to a breach of contract, and a breach of fiduciary duty. Her lawyer’s obligations are to her, and not to self promote, as seems to be the case here.

The Federal Workers and Ontario First Responders (a.k.a. Ontario Health Workers) are also listed on the page soliciting donations. This is despite clients having paid retainers of $1,000 and $1,5000 respectively. So, it’s not just Gill’s case where there’s multiple incomes.

Health/Retirement Were Just Excuses To Dump Gill

Gill says in the Statement of Claim that Galati used his recent health troubles to remove himself as her lawyer. He would be unable to continue representing her, and would likely end up retiring overall.

However, Gill points out that despite this, he continued to represent other clients, and even filed new litigation. Perhaps his illness was case specific. It comes across as an excuse to dump her personally. If this turns out to be the case, he would likely be on the hook for the extra costs she incurred in obtaining new counsel.

Summary Of Incompetence/Negligence Allegations

Starting at page 15 in the Statement of Claim, the specific acts are listed. And is it ever a list. These are serious accusations, and they venture into the realm of professional misconduct.

a) He improperly commenced a claim that was doomed to fail.

b) He failed to advise Dr. Gill of the risks in commencing a defamation action in the Province of Ontario, including the very real potential for anti-SLAPP motions to be filed, the test for these motions and the likelihood for an adverse full indemnity costs award.

c) He failed to pursue any potential settlement with the Defamation Defendants, which would have mitigated damages and potentially rendered an action unnecessary.

d) He failed to advise Dr. Gill of critically important information that would have allowed her to make an informed decision regarding various steps in the litigation, including but not limited to (i) initiating an action, (ii) continuing the action, (iii) settling the action against various parties and (iv) properly responding to the anti-SLAPP motions.

e) He failed to properly and competently articulate, advance and argue a meritorious claim against some of the Defamation Defendants.

f) He employed and/or relied upon junior lawyers, staff, and other employees who lacked sufficient competency skills, and training for the tasks they were undertaking.

g) He held himself out as an expert in the field of defamation law, when he knew or ought to have known that he, in fact, lacked any such expertise.

h) He failed to provide Dr. Gill with competent advice and recommendations.

i) He failed to communicate with Dr. Gill in a regular, open, transparent, and clear manner.

j) He failed to provide Dr. Gill with notice and/or sufficient notice of deadlines in her legal proceedings.

k) He missed and failed to advise Dr. Gill that he had missed critical deadlines in the CPSO matters (including appeals to the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board).

l) He failed to take instructions or solicit informed consent from Dr. Gill on important steps in the litigation.

m) He placed his own beliefs, interests and/or ideology above the interests of his client, Dr. Gill.

n) He acted for Dr. Gill even though he was in a conflict of interest, seeking to advance his own interests, political or otherwise, and to personally benefit from acting for Dr. Gill and putting his own interests ahead of hers.

o) He committed flagrant breaches of his duties owed to Dr. Gill pursuant to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

p) He drafted, prepared, and issued a grossly deficient Statement of Claim.

q) He committed numerous errors and breaches in defending the anti-SLAPP Motions.

r) He prepared and delivered deficient responding motion material to the anti-SLAPP Motions.

s) He failed to provide Dr. Gill with a copy of the Motion Decision in a timely manner.

t) He prepared and delivered deficient cost submissions.

u) He prepared and delivered a deficient Notice of Appeal.

v) He abandoned Dr. Gill’s legal cases at critical times and left her in a vulnerable position.

w) He generally acted as incompetent legal counsel in advancing and protecting Dr. Gill’s interests.

x) Such further particulars as counsel for the plaintiff will advise.

Keep in mind, this is just Gill’s Statement of Claim, so this is her version of events. Still, it comes across as believable. It boggles the mind that any truly informed person would have filed such a lawsuit. Anyone with a working knowledge of anti-SLAPP laws would have immediately seen that this case was very likely to be thrown out.

As with her interview a month ago, Gill doesn’t show any regret or remorse for the people that she waged lawfare against. Indeed, her grievance seems to be that Galati and Coomara were incompetent at doing it, not that it was a bad idea in the first place.

Another thought: given Elon Musk’s promise to cover Gill financially, how does it impact this case? Her GiveSendGo has also raised a substantial amount of money.

Frankly, this case seems unlikely to go to Trial. As a practicing lawyer, malpractice insurance is mandatory, and the case will probably be settled. Still, it’s nice to finally have this out.

As for the Maciver Defendants: Sharkawy, Polevoy, Caulfield, Cohen, Boozary, etc…. they’re presumably still out large sums of money. Gill will never fully pay, especially in light of the “settlements” she forced. However, there is another way they can recoup their losses. And the answer is pretty obvious.

GILL PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM:
(1) Gill Malpractice Notice of Action
(2) Gill Malpractice Statement Of Claim

LAMBA PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM:
(1) Lamba Statement Of Claim

GILL’S LEGAL BILLS:
(1) https://twitter.com/XNews/status/1771902773358916041
(2) https://www.givesendgo.com/kulvinder
(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v_La5W3PP4
(4) CanLII Version Of Ontario Anti-SLAPP Legislation

KULVINDER GILL BEGGING FOR MONEY:
(1) https://www.givesendgo.com/kulvinder
(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v_La5W3PP4
(3) https://www.ontario.ca/page/search-court-cases-online

VARIOUS COURT DECISIONS:
(1) Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 1279 – Case dismissed under anti-SLAPP laws
(2) Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 6169 – Over $1 million in costs awarded
(3) Gill v. Maciver, 2023 ONCA 776 – Security for costs from The Pointer Group
(4) Gill v. Maciver, 2024 ONCA 126 – Appeal dismissed

MOTION FOR SECURITY OF COSTS
(1) Gill V. Maciver Amended Notice of Motion – 26 Sept 2023
(2) Gill v Maciver – San Grewal’s appeal for support M54554.MPF.PointerGroup – October 2023.PDF
(3) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PbEewt3dAKqAT5Udp6BIIqrM9Y_AhPHv/view
(4) Ruling: Motion For Security Of Costs – Denied

KULVINDER GILL/ASHVINDER LAMBA CASE:
(1) Gill/Lamba Defamation Lawsuit December 2020
(2) https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/rso-1990-c-c43/latest/rso-1990-c-c43.html#sec137.1_smooth
(3) Gill/Lamba Factum Of Medical Post Tristan Bronca
(4) Gill/Lamba Case Dismissed As A SLAPP
(5) https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2022/2022onsc1279/2022onsc1279.html#par17
(6) Gill/Lamba Notice of Appeal and Appellants’ Certificate
(7) Gill/Lamba Appeal – Notice of Intention to Dismiss Appeal for Delay, May 12, 2022
(8) Motion To Recuse – Badly Redacted -2022-06-17 – Notice
(9) Motion To Recuse – Badly Redacted -2022 – Motion Record
(10) Gill/Lamba July 15 Letter To Obtain New Counsel
(11) Gill/Lamba Case Conference Brief July 29, 2022
(12) Gill/Lamba Endorsement New Counsel Cost Submissions August 3, 2022
(13) Gill/Lamba Case $1.1 Million In Costs Ordered October 31, 2022
(14) Gill/Lamba Appeal Dismissed As Baseless By ONCA
(15) https://coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/item/22116/index.do

GILL/ATTARAN/UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA CASE:
(1) Gill-Attaran Statement Of Claim
(2) Gill Attaran Affidavit Of Service
(3) Gill-Attaran Notice Of Intent
(4) Gill-Attaran Motice To Recuse
(5) Gill-Ataran Motion To Recuse Motion Record

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Action4Canada: 4 Years Later, No Legitimate Notice Of Civil Claim Filed

Yes, the Action4Canada case has been covered here before, but consider this:

It’s been nearly four (4) years since the group began fundraising, under the pretense that they were going to file a Court challenge in British Columbia. They started in the Summer of 2020, and it’s now the end of March 2024. Almost 4 years later, there’s still no valid case on file.

Despite repeatedly assuring the public that time was of the essence, every attempt has been made to ensure that it will never go forward. Probably the worst example was filing a Notice of Appeal back in September 2022, even though the Judge had granted permission to amend and refile.

It’s undeniable at this point, if it wasn’t obvious long ago. The Action4Canada case was never intended to go to Trial. It was a “placeholder” case, to give the illusion that something was being done. This was all while diverting money and energy away from other causes.

And it’s not as if the case was taken on a pro-bono (or “free”) basis. Donors have paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars for what they thought was a sincere anti-lockdown challenge. They’ve received nothing of value for their money. In the Spring of 2021 alone there was a $200,000 payment for legal services.

True, these people could be delusional, but it could just as easily be an act. It’s hard to imagine anyone this out of touch with reality being given control over an organization’s finances.

Yes, one could argue that there technically was a Claim filed a few years ago. But no sensible person who understands civil procedure takes this seriously. For a quick rundown:

(1) August, 2021: After nearly a year of stalling, Action4Canada files their Notice of Civil Claim, a.k.a. Statement of Claim. It’s 391 pages long, rambling, incoherent, and fails to follow the basics of Civil Procedure. This critique of it aged very well.

(2) August, 2022: The B.C. Supreme Court ruled that it was “bad beyond argument”, and drafted so poorly that it was impossible to respond to. Although leave (permission) was granted to amend, the Claim was never accepted as valid.

(3) February, 2023: The Law Society of B.C. put it in their training manual for new lawyers. This case is now a teaching exercise of “wholly inadequate pleadings”, and how to avoid them. See page 15. That’s right, the LSBC is using it to train new lawyers on how not to draft lawsuits.

(4) February 2024: The Law Society of B.C. puts out its newest version of their training manual for new lawyers, and the Action4Canada case is still in there. Even a year later, they still view it as teaching material. It wasn’t just a one-off.

(5) February, 2024: The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that the original Claim wasn’t drafted in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure. It was too long, confusing, and difficult to follow. They didn’t address the litany of other errors contained within. The lawyer also apparently didn’t understand that you can appeal the Order, but not the Reasons.

This so-called challenge has been smacked down by the:
(a) British Columbia Supreme Court
(b) British Columbia Court of Appeal
(c) Law Society of British Columbia

And it wasn’t over some minor or technical defect or deficiency. This suit has become the laughing stock of the legal profession because it has been so absurdly handled.

More than a month after the BCCA ruling, there’s still no amended NOCC filed. There obviously is no urgency whatsoever to get anything done.

Let’s not forget that both Vaccine Choice cases, from 2019 and 2020, have been allowed to sit idly for years. No rush here either to advance those.

Fundraising started 4 years ago, and still no legitimate Claim from Action4Canada.

If there really was all this expert evidence and testimony ready to go, why mess around with incoherent and unintelligible pleadings? Why unnecessarily complicate things if all of these witnesses were set? It makes no sense whatsoever. Why delay things for years like this?

Even if a well written Notice of Claim were filed tomorrow (unlikely as that is), the Statute of Limitations would be a serious issue. Any new claims would be barred if they happened over 2 years earlier. And since most of the current NOCC is irrelevant or outside the jurisdiction of a Civil Court, there isn’t much left to go on.

What was the plan, to let Bonnie Henry just die of old age?

All that they’ve done is deliberately waste time and money. As of late, they smear their critics as “paid agitators”. Strange how it’s apparently not defamation when they suggest others are controlled opposition.

Remember to donate!

LAW SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA:
(1) BCLS Civil Instruction Manual 2023
(2) BCLS Civil Instruction Manual 2024
(3) https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/becoming-a-lawyer-in-bc/admission-program/professional-legal-training-course/
(4) https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/becoming-a-lawyer-in-bc/admission-program/professional-legal-training-course/faq-pltc/

ACTION4CANADA APPEAL DOCUMENTS:
(1) A4C Notice Of Appeal September 28 2022
(2) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – VIHA
(3) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – BC Defendants
(4) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – Attorney General of Canada
(5) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – Peter Kwok, Translink
(6) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – BC Ferries, Brittney Sylvester
(7) A4C Appeal – Appeal Book – Appellant
(8) A4C Appeal – Appeal Book – Respondent VIH And PHC
(9) A4C Appeal – Appeal Record – Stand Alone Respondents VIHA
(10) A4C Appeal – Appeal Record – Stand Alone
(11) A4C Appeal – Factum – Appellant
(12) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent Attorney General Of Canada
(13) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent BC Ferries and Brittney Sylvester
(14) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent HMK -Provincial Defendants
(15) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent Peter Kwok and Translink
(16) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent VIHA and Providence Health
(17) A4C Appeal – Consent Order – Factum, Time Limits
(18) A4C Appeal – Change In Representation – BC Defendants
(19) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Hearing February 2024
(20) CanLII Decision In Action4Canada Appeal

ACTION4CANADA BCSC DOCUMENTS:
(1) A4C BCSC – Notice Of Civil Claim
(2) A4C BCSC – Response to Civil Claim (Health Authority Defendants)
(3) A4C BCSC – Response to Civil Claim (Provincial Defendants)
(4) A4C BCSC – Affidavit No 1 of Rebecca Hill
(5) A4C BCSC – Notice of Application (AG and RCMP applies to strike)
(6) A4C BCSC – Notice of Application (Provincial Defendants applies to strike)
(7) A4C BCSC – Notice of Application (Translink applies to strike)
(8) A4C BCSC – Application Response (Health Authority Defendants consent to strike)
(9) A4C BCSC – Application Response (BC Ferries consents to strike)
(10) A4C BCSC – Application Response (AG and RCMP consent to Prov. strike application)
(11) A4C BCSC – Application Response (Translink consents to HA Defendants strike application)
(12) A4C BCSC – Application Response (Translink consents to Prov. strike application)
(13) A4C BCSC – Affidavit No 2 of Rebecca Hill
(14) A4C BCSC – Application Record (to strike)
(15) A4C BCSC – Application Response (all plaintiffs)
(16) A4C BCSC – Amended Application Response (all plaintiffs)
(17) A4C BCSC – Transcript Application To Strike
(18) A4C BCSC – Reasons For Striking NOCC In Its Entirety
(19) A4C BCSC – Order striking pleadings
(20) A4C BCSC – Order striking pleading in its entirety with costs payable forthwith
(21) A4C BCSC – Appointment to assess bill of costs for Kwok and Translink
(22) A4C BCSC – Notice of Discontinuance (Kimberly Woolman & Estate of Jaqueline Woolman)
(23) A4C BCSC – Notice of Discontinuance (Amy Muranetz)
(24) A4C BCSC – Notice of Discontinuance (Federico Fuoco & Fire Productions Ltd.)

OTHER:
(1) https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2022/2022bcsc1507/2022bcsc1507.html
(2) https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/Website/media/Shared/docs/becoming/material/civil.pdf
(3) https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/168_2009_01#rule3-1
(4) https://justice.gov.bc.ca/cso/index.do
(5) https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/120_2022a#division_d0e3656
(6) https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2022/2022bcca450/2022bcca450.html#par10

ACTION4CANADA FINANCIAL DOCS:
(A) A4C Docs Profits And Losses 2021-2022
(B) A4C Docs Balance Sheet 2021-2022
(C) A4C-Docs-General-Ledger-2021-2022

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Unpopular Viewpoint: People Like Gill Are The Reason Anti-SLAPP Laws Are Necessary In Society

As many have now heard, Elon Musk is offering to pay for Kulvinder Gill’s outstanding legal bills. In a recent tweet, the reasoning was explained. However, from reading the message, is becomes clear that Musk doesn’t really know anything about the case.

The most obvious point is that Gill isn’t out $300,000 because the Government went after her. She went after other people for expressing different views online. Her $12.75 million case was thrown out under Ontario’s anti-SLAPP laws (Section 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act). She was then hit with full indemnity (100% of costs) for a libel-chill lawsuit that she and Ashvinder Lamba initiated.

If not for anti-SLAPP laws, which are designed to screen out frivolous and abusive defamation claims, this would likely have cost several million more to fight against.

Gill is the instigator here, not the victim.

People like Gill are the reason we need anti-SLAPP laws, with full indemnity provisions.

X is proud to help defend Dr. Kulvinder Kaur Gill against the government-supported efforts to cancel her speech.

@dockaurG is a practicing physician in Canada, specializing in immunology and pediatrics. Because she spoke out publicly on Twitter (now X) in opposition to the Canadian and Ontario governments’ COVID lockdown efforts and vaccination mandates, she was harassed by the legacy media, censored by prior Twitter management, and subjected to investigations and disciplinary proceedings by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario that resulted in “cautions” being placed on her permanent public record.

The legal battles that ensued cost Dr. Gill her life savings, and she now owes $300,000 in a court judgment due Monday. When Elon Musk learned earlier this week about her crowdfunding campaign to pay the judgment (https://givesendgo.com/kulvinder), he pledged to help. X will now fund the rest of Dr. Gill’s campaign so that she can pay her $300,000 judgment and her legal bills.

Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and a critical defense against totalitarianism in all forms. We must do whatever we can to protect it, and at X we will always fight to protect your right to speak freely.

From the tweet, it’s apparent that Musk hasn’t read any of the 4 published Court rulings. 2 are from the Ontario Superior Court, and the other 2 from the Ontario Court of Appeal.

VARIOUS COURT DECISIONS:
(1) Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 1279 – Case dismissed under anti-SLAPP laws
(2) Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 6169 – Over $1 million in costs awarded
(3) Gill v. Maciver, 2023 ONCA 776 – Security for costs from The Pointer Group
(4) Gill v. Maciver, 2024 ONCA 126 – Appeal dismissed

While many of the Defendants had insurance, several did not. Gill forced them to pay out of pocket to defend against her $12.75 million suit. At no point does Gill express any guilt or remorse over the carnage she inflicted. Instead, she tries to get pity since it didn’t work out as expected.

Imagine what would have happened if this monster had actually won.

Musk is offering to fund the money that Gill still owes, but there’s no concern apparently over the people she attempted to bankrupt. Again, she and Lamba filed this suit, forcing the others to defend themselves. He appears to know nothing about the case history, or the related matters.

The Attaran suit is particularly bad. Not only is she demanding $7 million because he called her an idiot on Twitter, but it’s still ongoing. Gill whines about facing bankruptcy, while she still tries to bankrupt someone else.

Given Musk’s willingness to fund her outstanding legal bills, it also becomes apparent he never read the Statement of Claim either. It’s pretty clear what this was about.

(Paragraph 41) – Tweet from Angus Maciver
(Paragraph 44) – More tweets from Angus Maciver
(Paragraph 45) – Apology tweets from Angus Maciver
(Paragraph 46) – Apology tweet from Angus Maciver
(Paragraph 52) – Tweets from Nadia Alam
(Paragraph 53) – OMA public correspondence from Nadia Alam
(Paragraph 58) – Medical Post interview with Alam over Maciver tweets
(Paragraph 67) – Medical Post covers Macivers comments regarding Gill
(Paragraph 88) – Tweets from Andre Picard
(Paragraph 90) – Tweets from Tristan Bronca
(Paragraph 96) – Tweets from Michelle Cohen
(Paragraph 99) – Michelle Cohen and CBC news story
(Paragraph 104) – Tweets from Alex Nataros
(Paragraph 107) – Tweets from Terry Polevoy
(Paragraph 119) – Tweets from Ian Schwartz
(Paragraph 124) – Tweets from Abdu Sharkawy
(Paragraph 129) – Tweets from Andrew Boozary
(Paragraph 134) – Tweets from Andrew Fraser
(Paragraph 140) – Tweets from Marco Prado
(Paragraph 143) – Tweets from Timothy Caulfield
(Paragraph 150) – Tweets from David Jacobs
(Paragraph 153) – Tweets from Sajjad Fazel
(Paragraph 158) – Tweets from Alheli Picazo
(Paragraph 161) – Tweets from Bruce Arthur
(Paragraph 166) – Tweets from Tristan Bronca
(Paragraph 171) – Tweets from Terry Polevoy
(Paragraph 178) – Tweets from John Van Aerde
(Paragraph 179) – Tweets from Carly Weeks
(Paragraph 183) – The Pointer Group covers Gill spat
(Paragraph 190) – Hamilton Spectator covers Gill spat
(Paragraph 209) – Tweets from Angus Maciver

There is some ancient (from 2018) beef with Angus Maciver, and it’s not clear why it was included in this lawsuit.

Gill sued 23 different people and organizations. Lamba sued 2 of them as well. While Gill laments being hit with a million dollar cost award, she caused all kinds of headaches and stress.

And for what? Comments on Twitter.

Gill is now represented by Caza Saikaley for both the Maciver and Attaran claims. Both lawsuits were originally filed by “Mr. Bad Beyond Argument”, who abandoned her in early 2022.

Reading through the Statement of Claim, Gill and Galati have the stench of being “ambulance chasers”. In other words, it looks as if they encouraged this spat, for the purpose of suing.

If Ted Kuntz’ sworn remarks are to be taken seriously, it means that Vaccine Choice Canada coordinated, if not outright funded, the Gill/Lamba defamation case. For whatever reason, donor money was used to attempt to silence critics online. See paragraph 20 and Exhibit “C” of his Affidavit.

Put another way: VCC was a “fundraising arm” for Galati’s case.

It’s very telling that the Vaccine Choice cases from 2019 and 2020 are allowed to sit idly for years. Likewise with the Action4Canada case. These “bad beyond argument” anti-lockdown and medical autonomy cases are incoherently written, and go nowhere.

While genuine cases sit, wasting time and money, donations were poured into Gill’s defamation suit. Considering that there was never any chance of success — and hence no contingency winnings — why would any competent lawyer agree to take it on? It’s not like Gill or Lamba have a lot of money. Their lawyer had to get paid from someone, and it’s pretty obvious who.

Taking into account that Gill isn’t being completely truthful about why she owes the $300,000 in the first place, getting money from Elon Musk could be viewed as fraud. She doesn’t owe the money because she was dragged into Court. Instead, she dragged others into Court for a frivolous case — and lost.

She doesn’t owe this money for being dragged before her regulator, the CPSO. It’s because her defamation case was (predictably) thrown out.

Presumably, Musk is an intelligent investor. While he’s free to fund whatever causes he wants to, one would think that he would do serious due diligence before opening his wallet.

Would he have agreed to cover Gill’s costs if he was aware of all of the above? Perhaps, but probably not. Gill isn’t the free speech hero that she’s made out to be. She engaged in lawfare — at least twice — and has no concern for consequences, unless they impact her personally.

The so-called “Freedom Movement” needs to stop treating her so kindly.

People like this are why we need anti-SLAPP laws in the first place.

GILL’S LEGAL BILLS:
(1) https://twitter.com/XNews/status/1771902773358916041
(2) https://www.givesendgo.com/kulvinder
(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v_La5W3PP4
(4) CanLII Version Of Ontario Anti-SLAPP Legislation

KULVINDER GILL BEGGING FOR MONEY:
(1) https://www.givesendgo.com/kulvinder
(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v_La5W3PP4
(3) https://www.ontario.ca/page/search-court-cases-online

VARIOUS COURT DECISIONS:
(1) Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 1279 – Case dismissed under anti-SLAPP laws
(2) Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 6169 – Over $1 million in costs awarded
(3) Gill v. Maciver, 2023 ONCA 776 – Security for costs from The Pointer Group
(4) Gill v. Maciver, 2024 ONCA 126 – Appeal dismissed

KULVINDER GILL/ASHVINDER LAMBA CASE:
(1) Gill/Lamba Defamation Lawsuit December 2020
(2) Section 137.1 Courts of Justice Act for Ontario
(3) Gill/Lamba Factum Of Medical Post Tristan Bronca
(4) Gill/Lamba Case Dismissed As A SLAPP
(5) https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2022/2022onsc1279/2022onsc1279.html#par17
(6) Gill/Lamba Notice of Appeal and Appellants’ Certificate
(7) Gill/Lamba Appeal – Notice of Intention to Dismiss Appeal for Delay, May 12, 2022
(8) Motion To Recuse – Badly Redacted -2022-06-17 – Notice
(9) Motion To Recuse – Badly Redacted -2022 – Motion Record
(10) Gill/Lamba July 15 Letter To Obtain New Counsel
(11) Gill/Lamba Case Conference Brief July 29, 2022
(12) Gill/Lamba Endorsement New Counsel Cost Submissions August 3, 2022
(13) Gill/Lamba Case $1.1 Million In Costs Ordered October 31, 2022

MOTION FOR SECURITY FOR COSTS
(1) Gill V. Maciver Amended Notice of Motion – 26 Sept 2023
(2) Gill v Maciver – San Grewal’s appeal for support, October 2023.PDF
(3) Factum – The Pointer Group’s Motion For Security For Costs
(4) Ruling: Motion For Security Of Costs – Denied

AFFIDAVITS FROM CSASPP CASE:
(1) CSASPP RG Kuntz Affidavit
(2) CSASPP RG Gaw Affidavit
(3) CSASPP RG Sable Affidavit

GILL PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM:
(1) Gill Notice of Action

LAMBA PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM:
(1) Lamba Statement Of Claim
(2) Lamba Notice Of Intent To Defend

GILL/ATTARAN $7,000,000 DEFAMATION LAWSUIT:
(1) Gill-Attaran Statement Of Claim
(2) Gill Attaran Affidavit Of Service
(3) Gill-Attaran Notice Of Intent
(4) Gill-Attaran Counsel Abandons Plaintiff

Posted on

Would It Be So Difficult To Admit “I Shouldn’t Have Done That”?

Kulvinder Gill is back in public, asking for money.

She has only days left to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in Court fees. Here’s some background. This stemmed from a $12.75 million defamation case that she and Ashvinder Lamba filed in December 2020. They sued 23 individuals and media outlets, primarily over comments on Twitter. There are 4 rulings that have come down

(a) Dismissal in February 2022
(b) Costs awarded in October 2022
(c) Motion for security for costs denied November 2023
(d) Appeal dismissed in February 2024

Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 1279 – Case dismissed under anti-SLAPP laws
Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 6169 – Over $1 million in costs awarded
Gill v. Maciver, 2023 ONCA 776 – Security for costs from The Pointer Group
Gill v. Maciver, 2024 ONCA 126 – Appeal dismissed

Unsurprisingly, this libel-chill lawsuit backfired bigtime. Gill now owes nearly $300,000 by the end of March, not including lawyers’ fees and other private settlements. Perhaps she should finally admit this was a bad idea.

It’s also scary to think what would have happened if she had won. Would she start suing more people who have annoyed her online? Fortunately for society, she lost.

A few days ago, Jay Bhattacharya posted an interview with Gill about her looming financial problems. For reference, Bhattacharya wrote the Great Barrington Declaration, which can be viewed as “diet lockdowns”. Gill has imminent Court orders to pay, and she doesn’t have the money.

Would it be so difficult to admit she shouldn’t have filed this lawsuit in the first place? That bit of self-reflection would have gone a long way.

Watching the interview, it becomes clear that Gill still doesn’t understand why sued at all.

She talks about wanting to bring her truth forward, but that’s not the purpose of a defamation lawsuit. It’s about whether a Court can silence someone on speech or expression they’ve made publicly. She’s been dealing with these people for nearly 4 years now, and still doesn’t get it.

Gill also talks about anti-SLAPP Motions as if this were a surprise to her. These laws have been on the books in Ontario since 2015, and were well known. In reality, any competent lawyer would discuss such a possibility right away. Not only that, Ontario law typically provides full indemnity (100% of costs) to Defendants who are successful in getting their cases dismissed.

Gill talks about “fair comment” as if it this were some oddity. This defence — one of mixed fact and opinion — is routinely used by Defendants. A statement doesn’t have to be completely accurate as long as there’s some factual basis for it, and a person could honestly hold such a belief.

Gill appears to have gotten incompetent advice, both from former and current counsel.

Noticeably absent is any mention that Gill regrets the damage she inflicted on others. She attempted to bankrupt people over mean words on Twitter. Yes, she had to deal with the CPSO, but she sued people over Twitter remarks. It’s amazing how tone deaf she remains.

Gill tries to justify suing all those people on the grounds that they were “big and powerful”, and that they were “covered by insurance”. Not all of them were, and some had to personally pay out of their savings. A few were seniors living off of a pension. In any event, it comes off as a pretty cold blooded excuse.

Additionally, there are several major omissions in this interview. These are things that Gill should have disclosed if she’s asking for money. They aren’t minor by any means, but could easily cause potential donors to walk away.

  1. Ted Kuntz claims Vaccine Choice Canada funded Gill’s case
  2. Appeal lodged to “leverage” settlements with Defendants
  3. Gill suing former lawyer for $1,850,000 for malpractice
  4. Gill suing former lawyer for $6,000 in Brampton
  5. Ashvinder Lamba suing former counsel for $600,000 for malpractice
  6. Gill has open $7,000,000 defamation suit with Amir Attaran
  7. Gill sued people who had apologized to her publicly

Granted there are most likely people who would still donate to her defence, but a lot would see this as grounds to refuse.

1. Ted Kuntz claims Vaccine Choice Canada funded Gill’s case

Ted Kuntz of Vaccine Choice Canada gave an Affidavit in the Spring of 2023. See highlighted version. This was in support of a $1.1 million defamation lawsuit against CSASPP. It didn’t go so well. A similar one was filed in the lawsuit against this website.

What’s interesting in the Kuntz Affidavit is paragraph 20. Kuntz says that in the Summer of 2021, the Vaccine Choice membership became concerned about the total lack of activity in their anti-lockdown case. In response, there was an update sent, which is attached as “Exhibit C”.

“Exhibit C” talks about a need to protect doctors, nurses, teachers, etc…. and for them to be able to speak the truth. It explicitly states that “other legal actions had been filed”.

Item #4 in that list talks about a defamation lawsuit that was underway over doctors who had been maligned on social media. Although it doesn’t explicitly name Kulvinder Gill and Ashvinder Lamba, who else could it be? VCC has never identified any other people that may have been used like this.

“Exhibit C” in the Kuntz Affidavit makes it appear that these other lawsuits — such as the Gill/Lamba case in question — were directly financed by them. At a bare minimum, one can imply that the defamation suit was coordinated to help their overall purpose. From the ruling:

[317] Given the position taken on behalf of the Plaintiffs by their counsel in response to the suggestion made by some of the Defendants that the Plaintiffs’ claims were being maintained with the possible benefit of third party funding, I did not consider it necessary or appropriate to refer to it in the above reasons as it did not form any part of the applicable analysis. However, I should indicate to the parties that approach taken in that regard is without prejudice to the entitlement of any party to refer to such issue if there is a proper basis for doing so when making submissions on costs.

In fact, at the end of the February 2022 ruling, it’s stated that the Defendants have been questioning whether Gill’s and Lamba’s suit was financed by outside money.

Kuntz’s Affidavit sure makes it look like Gill and Lamba were getting money for their case from third parties, or at least that it was coordinated by others.

Too bad Gill doesn’t mention that in her recent e-begging.

2. Appeal lodged to “leverage” settlements with Defendants

An important detail that gets glossed over is the reason the case was appealed in the first place. Gill and Lamba (mostly Gill though) were hit with over $1 million in costs that the Defendants’ lawyers had rung up. By appealing, and thus keeping the case open, Gill was able to “leverage” settlements out of people who just wanted it over with. This comes across as bad faith.

In their Appellate Motion for security for costs, The Pointer Group alleges exactly that. Their Motion was denied, however. Their Factum is still well worth a read.

3. Gill suing former lawyer for $1,850,000 for malpractice

Gill filed a Notice of Action against her former lawyer, and his firm. The reason is that the 2 year anniversary of Justice Stewart’s ruling was approaching, and this bought her time. She’s suing him (and his law firm) for $1.85 million. The Notice alleges professional malpractice.

Granted, it could be a year or 2 before she sees any money from this. However, since she’s asking for donations on GiveSendGo, shouldn’t this be mentioned? If the insurance company settles — which is highly probable — she’s in for a windfall of cash.

This came hot on the heels of her former co-Plaintiff filing a lawsuit, and likely was the motivating factor.

4. Gill suing former lawyer for $6,000 in Brampton

Kulvinder Gill actually has two (2) separate lawsuits against former counsel. The Samantha Coomara listed is a junior lawyer, licensed since 2018. It’s for a relatively minor amount, less than $6,000. This is likely what Gill and Lamba had paid out of pocket.

However, this is probably nowhere near the amount of fees their lawyer charged. Since their December 2020 case was so poor, there was never any prospect of collecting anything on contingency. It seems doubtful that he would do anything for free. So, who paid for the case?

If the Kuntz Affidavit is to be taken seriously, Vaccine Choice Canada’s donors paid.

5. Ashvinder Lamba suing former counsel for $600,000 for malpractice

Recently, Ashvinder Lamba, Gill’s former co-Plaintiff, filed a $600,000 professional malpractice lawsuit against their former lawyer. This is likely what gave Gill the idea to file her own (larger) suit. Insurance companies will likely pay out rather than take on a longer, more expensive Trial.

As of the time of writing this, a Notice of Intent to Defend has been filed. This is not the same thing as a Statement of Defence, but still indicates that the case will be fought.

Lamba complains about “junior staff” being involved in work that they weren’t trained or competent in. This is likely a reference to Coomara, whom Gill and Lamba both sued in 2022.

6. Gill has open $7,000,000 defamation suit with Amir Attaran

Gill plays the pity card throughout her interview, lamenting the fact that she doesn’t have money to pay the existing cost order. She leaves out that she has an open $7,000,000 defamation suit against Amir Attaran and the University of Ottawa. His crime? Calling her an idiot on Twitter.

This plea from Gill rings hollow. She laments that she’s facing bankruptcy, yet she is still attempting to bankrupt someone else for comments made on Twitter. One would think that she would drop that suit, at a minimum.

If Gill was being transparent, she would have disclosed this.

7. Gill sued people who had apologized to her publicly

[73] On multiple occasions, Dr. Maciver has apologized to the Plaintiffs both publicly and privately and shown contrition for the heated language he used on Twitter. The fact of Dr. Maciver’s apologies was also made known within the physician community on Twitter.

Likely the worst of the comments came from Angus Maciver, who had publicly apologized for making them. But it wasn’t enough to stop him from getting sued. This comes across as particularly vindictive

Would anyone donate to Gill’s GiveSendGo account if she had disclosed all of this?

Probably not.

To be clear, Gill has every right to express her views and opinions in the public arena. She can put forward whatever she believes to be true. Likewise, she has the ability to post downright dumb and offensive things. This is called “free speech”, and it’s something everyone in the “Freedom Movement” should agree on.

But it’s become clear that she cares about her free speech, and only her free speech. Yes, she should be able to post what she wants.

It’s just too bad that she doesn’t extend her victims the same courtesy.

Maybe, just maybe, she shouldn’t have filed such an absurd lawsuit in 2020. Perhaps she shouldn’t have named so many people. Would it be too hard to admit she was wrong?

Note: by checking this link, anyone can SEARCH ONLINE FOR FREE to see what’s happening with various cases. Don’t accept the word of anyone here, but check it out for yourselves. Call the Court, or visit in person if that’s a feasible option.

KULVINDER GILL BEGGING FOR MONEY:
(1) https://www.givesendgo.com/kulvinder
(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v_La5W3PP4
(3) https://www.ontario.ca/page/search-court-cases-online

VARIOUS COURT DECISIONS:
(1) Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 1279 Case dismissed under anti-SLAPP laws
(2) Gill v. Maciver, 2022 ONSC 6169 – Over $1 million in costs awarded
(3) Gill v. MacIver, 2023 ONCA 776 – Security for costs from The Pointer Group
(4) Gill v. Maciver, 2024 ONCA 126 – Appeal dismissed

AFFIDAVITS FROM CSASPP CASE:
(1) CSASPP RG Kuntz Affidavit
(2) CSASPP RG Gaw Affidavit
(3) CSASPP RG Sable Affidavit

GILL PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM:
(1) Gill Notice of Action

LAMBA PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM:
(1) Lamba Statement Of Claim
(2) Lamba Notice Of Intent To Defend

GILL/ATTARAN $7,000,000 DEFAMATION LAWSUIT:
(1) Gill-Attaran Statement Of Claim
(2) Gill Attaran Affidavit Of Service
(3) Gill-Attaran Notice Of Intent
(4) Gill-Attaran Counsel Abandons Plaintiff

Posted on

Ontario First Responders Case To Be Discontinued After Bait-And-Switch Fails

A year ago, a $125 million lawsuit was filed in Ontario against various employers whom had forced people out of their jobs. This stemmed from the Fall 2021 injection mandates across Canadian Provinces and elsewhere. It made headlines across Canadian media outlets.

Interestingly, the case wasn’t filed until March 2023, nearly 18 months after the mandates came into effect. Clearly, this wasn’t urgent at all. And when it eventually was filed, it sat dormant for another year. This gem came from “Mr. Bad Beyond Argument”, and was written in an incomprehensible and unintelligible manner.

Keep in mind, Section 4 of the Ontario Limitations Act sets the time limit (for most things) at 2 years. Since so much time has elapsed, there will be no second opportunity. If this case falls through, that’s it.

Of course, this case never stood a chance. See the previous review on it. There were a litany of basic errors made that ensured it. These include:

  1. Recycling Statement of Claim from earlier struck cases
  2. Including content in a CIVIL Claim for which there’s no jurisdiction
  3. Drafting the Claim in a way that’s incoherent and incomprehensible
  4. Involving union/Government workers who are barred by arbitration requirements
  5. Unnecessary delay, causing issues with the Statute of Limitations
  6. Suing a needless amount of people, driving up costs

It’s this last point that’s of particular interest in this development.

Original retainer was $1,500 each Plaintiff, to cover all

According to the retainer agreement that’s freely available, each of the Plaintiffs would be expected to pay $1,500. While this sounds low, keep in mind that there were supposed to be 100 or more litigants. This would put the total at around $150,000.

That sounds like a reasonable amount, if the case were ever to get to Trial. However, this one never would, for a variety of reasons.

What kind of idiot sues this many unrelated parties?

Twenty (20) different towns, cities and municipalities are being sued. Each is run independently, and presumably, each will end up getting their own lawyer. And this should be obvious, but lawyers are expensive. Even poor and incompetent ones want lots of money.

Considering that the injection mandates were a Provincial dictate, the Plaintiffs could have sued the Ontario Government, and left it at that. However, the moron who compiled this case decided to sue everyone under the sun, even when Plaintiffs had no connection.

  1. HIS MAJESITY THE KING
  2. Solicitor General of Ontario
  3. Town of Ajax
  4. Town of Ajax Fire Department (Fire Chief Aaron Burridge) City of Cambridge
  5. City of Cambridge Fire Department (Fire Chief Brian Arnold)
  6. City of Greater Sudbury
  7. City of Guelph, City of Guelph Fire Department (Fire Chief Dave Elloway)
  8. City of Hamilton
  9. City of Hamilton Police
  10. City of Hamilton Police Chief (Frank Bergen)
  11. City of Hamilton Fire Department (Fire Chief David Cunliffe)
  12. City of Markham
  13. City of Markham Fire Department (Fire Chief Adam J. Grant)
  14. City of Mississauga
  15. City of Mississauga Fire Department (Fire Chief Deryn Rizzi)
  16. City of Ottawa
  17. City of Ottawa Police
  18. City of Ottawa Police Chief (Eric Stubbs)
  19. City of Ottawa Fire Department (Fire Chief Paul Hutt)
  20. City of Pickering
  21. City of Pickering Fire Department (Fire Chief Steve Boyd)
  22. City of Toronto
  23. City of Toronto Police
  24. City of Toronto Chief of Police (James Ramer)
  25. City of Toronto Fire Service (Fire Chief Matthew Pegg)
  26. Toronto District School Board
  27. Toronto Transit Commission
  28. Toronto Transit Commission Chair (Jon Burnside)
  29. City of Windsor
  30. City of Windsor Fire Department (Fire Chief Stephen Laforet)
  31. Town of Orangeville
  32. City of St. Catharines
  33. Regional Municipality of Durham
  34. York Region
  35. York Regional Police
  36. York Regional Police Chief (Jim MacSween)
  37. City of Niagara Falls
  38. Niagara Regional Police
  39. Niagara Regional Police Chief (Bryan MacCulloch)
  40. Town of Oakville
  41. Town of Oakville Fire Department (Fire Chief Paul Boissonneault)
  42. Peel Region
  43. Peel Regional Police
  44. Peel Regional Police Chief (Nishan Duraiappah)
  45. Town of Whitby
  46. Town of Whitby Fire Department (Fire Chief Mike Hickey)
  47. Municipality of Leamington

It would be one thing if lawsuit named several officials in a Federal or Provincial Government. They’d all be lumped together, and likely represented together. But here, completely different towns and cities are being sued, some on behalf of a single Plaintiff. This is not a good approach.

There’s also the significant issue that it’s not clear who many of the parties are. Given how poorly worded it is, this can be left open to interpretation.

Take Ottawa, for example. The lawsuit names: (a) City of Ottawa; (b) City of Ottawa Police; and (c) City of Ottawa Police Chief (Eric Stubbs). This is clearly talking about 3 different parties.

However, others like Oakville list: (a) Town of Oakville; and (b) Town of Oakville Fire Department (Fire Chief Paul Boissonneault). It’s not clear if the Fire Department itself if being named, or whether Fire Chief Paul Boissonneault is, and it’s just listing his title.

Similarly with “City of Pickering Fire Department (Fire Chief Steve Boyd)”, and “City of Windsor Fire Department (Fire Chief Stephen Laforet)”, are the Fire Departments themselves being named, or the actual Chiefs? There are several of these instances where it’s not clear who is being named.

On the subject of not knowing who people are: the lawsuit includes several “John Does”. This is complete nonsense. If a person is going to Court asking for money, they need to identify themselves. This is repeated from the Vaccine Choice Canada, Action4Canada, and Adelberg cases.

In short, dozens of separate potential lawsuits were joined into one. Since each jurisdiction ended up getting their own counsel, costs would inevitably skyrocket. And it led to this:

Another $4,500 from each, $450,000 in total to cover costs

November 24, 2023, this letter was sent to the Plaintiffs, demanding another $4,500 each, or else the case would be discontinued. In other words, their lawyer was threatening to pull the plug unless more money was handed over.

According to the letter, there were already 22 different lawyers on retainer for the various Defendants. It’s fair to assume that each would be asking for costs if they were able to get the case thrown out. Courts typically do award costs to successful parties.

$1,500 each became $6,000 really fast.

This is the bait-and-switch that was pulled on the Plaintiffs.

Because there were so many Defendants sued, and now so many lawyers, there would likely be dozens of Motions to Strike (or for Summary Judgement). It’s entirely possible that the total cost award — when the case was thrown out — would amount to thousands of dollars against each Plaintiff. Supposedly this extra half million (or so) would be put in trust to pay off the anticipated cost awards.

Not only that, the lawyer handling the file never tried to defend it. Instead, he held their case hostage, quadrupling the original price. Of course, the the lawsuit would still have been tossed anyway. Given the fact that the Plaintiffs were Government and/or unionized workers, they’d have no jurisdiction to sue in Court. Even without that, the Claim would, in any event, have to be rewritten in a coherent manner.

The letter cites a January 24th, 2024 case conference, to set dates for a Summary Judgement Motion. Presumably, the Defendants want the case thrown out for lack of jurisdiction. Remember, employees of unionized workplaces typically have the right to grieve and to arbitrate, but not to litigate.

For reference: the January 24th hearing did happen, but it was adjourned indefinitely. As of now, there are currently no dates set for anything.

There is an alternate theory on why this demand letter came. Given that the Ontario First Responders Claim is essentially a cut-and-paste of the Adelberg (Federal) case, it’s entirely possible that the lawyer himself would have been personally on the hook. He just recycles his Claims, makes cosmetic changes, and refiles them.

A deadline of December 17th, 2023 was given to vote. According to a source within, the group voted on whether or not to pay the extra money. The answer was overwhelmingly “no”. This meant they weren’t willing to give in to blackmail.

If a Notice of Discontinuance is filed, it amounts to dropping the case. And given how much time has passed, none of the litigants will be able to seek further recourse.

It seems unlikely that any refunds will be issued, regardless of what a dumpster fire this suit was from the beginning.

Statement of Claim didn’t follow Rules of Civil Procedure anyway

The Action4Canada, Vaccine Choice Canada and Adelberg (Federal) cases were all critiqued a long time ago. None of these Statement of Claims, all drafted by the same person, followed the basics of Civil Procedure. Whether in British Columbia, Ontario, or the Federal Court, there are certain minimum standards everyone needs to meet.

The documents were so incoherent, that even a person without a background in law could see that there would be serious problems.

Action4Canada and Adelberg were both struck as “bad beyond argument”. These were in August 2022 and February 2023, respectively. This was before the First Responders case was filed.

Adelberg had the additional problem that most of the Plaintiffs were barred from suing because of legislation that mandated a grievance process. Again, that ruling came out before this one was filed.

It was reported in January 2023 that the Police On Guard and Children’s Health Defense (Canada) cases had been dormant since their initial filings nearly 2 years before. Again, this was before the First Responders case. How many warning signs are needed?

$150,000 was thrown away on a case designed to go nowhere. None of the Plaintiffs will ever get their day in Court over this. What a waste.

A comment about the group that organized this case, Take Action Canada:

Over 2 years later, this nonsense is still posted their website. They actually gloat about this site getting sued for warning about the dangers of these scam lawsuits. Sandra Sable, who apparently runs T.A.C., even gave an Affidavit in support of a similar intimidation lawsuit against CSASPP and their leadership. She complains that the criticism of other cases — like A4C/VCC — led to potential Plaintiffs dropping out en masse. Apparently, it caused her endless headaches, and threatened the viability of the suit itself, which is probably true. In other words, Sable was fully aware of what she was signing onto, and did it anyway.

The irony: if Sable and T.A.C. had taken these warnings to heart, Plaintiffs in the First Responders case wouldn’t have been taken advantage of like this. Plenty of former clients saw what was going on. But some people are immune to good advice.

Since the Plaintiffs were will never get justice for their cases, perhaps they can start filing malpractice lawsuits, and get the insurance money. Gill and Lamba have clearly learned how this works.

T.A.C. DOCUMENTS/LINKS TO LOOK AT
(1) https://takeactioncanada.ca/
(2) https://twitter.com/Takeactioncan
(3) Ontario EMS Retainer Agreement – $1,500 Each Plaintiff
(4) Ontario EMS Statement Of Claim
(5) Ontario EMS Amended Statement Of Claim
(6) Ontario EMS Requisition To Amend
(7) Ontario EMS Notice Of Intent To Defend
(8) Ontario EMS Demand For More Money

T.A.C. POSTS SURVEY ABOUT DISCONTINUING “FIRST RESPONDERS” LAWSUIT
(1) https://takeactioncanada.ca/tac911-legal-action-1st-responder-essential-workers-update-dec-survey/
(2) Take Action Canada — Legal Action 1st Responder Essential Workers Update Dec Survey
(3) Wayback Machine Archive
(4) https://canucklaw.ca/wp-content/uploads/Ontario-EMS-Demand-For-More-Money.pdf

MEDIA COVERING INITIAL FILING
(1) https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/former-municipal-employees-launch-125m-lawsuit-over-vaccine-mandates-1.6298453
(2) https://www.insauga.com/ex-oakville-hamilton-municipal-workers-part-of-125m-lawsuit-filed-over-vaccine-mandates/
(3) https://www.baytoday.ca/local-news/126m-class-action-vaccine-mandate-lawsuit-launched-6656849
(4) https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/covid-19-lawsuit-seeks-125m-from-ontario-municipalities-including-cambridge-fire-department/article_f6ba19fb-7152-590d-9573-2fe81653efd5.html

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Action4Canada Case Remains In 2024 LSBC Professional Legal Training Course

The Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) has released the 2024 edition of their Professional Legal Training Course (PLTC). The infamous Action4Canada suit, led by “Mr. Bad Beyond Argument”, makes another appearance. The Notice of Civil Claim, NOCC, had been struck in its entirety. This was in the 2023, and was kept in this edition as an “educational exercise”.

Instead of rewriting the NOCC, as was permitted, the case was appealed. Recently, the B.C. Court of Appeal laughed Action4Canada out of there, stating they didn’t understand what was being challenged.

For more background information, here’s the earlier piece. In short, the LSBC is responsible for licensing lawyers (both new and old) in this Province. One of the requirements is that prospective lawyers — articling students — demonstrate a minimum competency in the law.

There are reasons for doing this. It’s in the public’s benefit that members of a “regulated profession” prove themselves to be intelligent and competent in their field. It hurts clients when they retain lawyers or paralegals who have no clue what’s going on. It also can clog the Courts when countless Appeals are launched on the basis of “ineffective assistance of counsel”.

Here’s a brief timeline of events in the Action4Canada case

(1) Despite fundraising since the Summer of 2020, nothing was actually filed until August 2021, nearly a year later. What finally came was a 391 page convoluted mess.

(2) August 2021: This critique was published. It quoted Rules 3-1, 3-7 and 9-5 of Civil Procedure for British Columbia. In short, it failed to meet even the basic requirements of a pleading. The site was sued a week later over it, after it allegedly caused donations to plummet.

(3) October 2021: The Defendants start issuing responses to the 391 page Claim.

(4) January 2022: Defendants being filing Applications to Strike the Claim, given how incoherent it is, and impossible to follow. This wasn’t a determination on the merits, just the quality of the writing. The reasons cited include many that the Canuck Law article had published.

(5) May 2022: The Application to Strike is finally heard. It’s worth hearing what it was about. The Claim was so long, confusing and convoluted, that it was impossible to respond to it in any meaningful way.

(6) August 2022: The Claim was struck as “bad beyond argument”. It was officially struck for being prolix and confusing, although many errors were outlined. However, Justice Ross did allow it to be rewritten, saying there was a prospect that a valid Claim could be filed.

(7) September 2022: Even though the decision was a humiliation, Gaw took to the alternative media to proclaim that it was “really a win”, and that Justice Ross had accepted the case as valid. This was a gross distortion of reality.

(8) September 2022: Instead of simply rewriting an amended Notice of Civil Claim, the case was appealed. No real explanation of that was ever given.

(9) February 2023: The Law Society of British Columbia includes the Action4Canada pleading in their Professional Legal Training Course (PLTC). This is one of the courses that prospective lawyers are required to take before letting licensed. This case is actually used as a teaching exercise in how not to draft documents.

(10) February 2023: The Federal (Adelberg) case is struck as “bad beyond argument”. Justice Fothergill references the Action4Canada case, and concludes it has many of the same defects.

(11) October 2023: No serious attempt had been made to book the actual hearing, which is why the Appeal became classified as “inactive”. If the date isn’t booked within 12 months after filing the Notice of Appeal, this is done automatically.

(12) October 2023: Just days after bring criticized for the lack of a hearing, A4C books the date for February. It seems that public scrutiny forced them to move ahead. Perhaps the goal was to just let the Appeal get thrown out as “abandoned”.

(13) February 2024: The LSBC posts their latest edition of the Professional Legal Training Course (PLTC), and the Action4Canada case is still in it. The overall text has been updated (from 140 pages to 147), but the editors still thought it was worth keeping in.

(14) February 2024: The Action4Canada Appeal is heard, and promptly dismissed.

(15) February 2024: Despite being laughed out of the Court of Appeal, Action4Canada insists that it was really a win, and that things are moving along.

On their website, Action4Canada called it a victory, being able to rewrite the NOCC. It didn’t seem to matter that the Claim had been struck in its entirety.

The Appeal was also thrown out, which was called a “successful outcome”.

This is some pretty delusional stuff.

What does the Professional Legal Training Course say about this?

If pleadings are inadequate the matter will typically not get as far as trial. In a recent example of wholly inadequate pleadings, the plaintiff filed a 391-page notice of civil claim that was struck (see §2.06(3) below on striking pleadings) as being “prolix” and “bad beyond argument.” In Action4Canada v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2022 BCSC 1507, the plaintiffs sued a host of politicians and crown corporations over pandemic-related measures they said were not based in science, exceeded the defendants’ authority, and breached Charter rights. The notice of civil claim was struck in its entirety. The judge said (at para. 51) it is counsel’s job to draft pleadings that do not offend the Rules. The judge also said the claim was too prolix for the defendants to be able to respond, and it was not the court’s job to interpret the claim:

To put those points another way, I have indicated above that the prolix nature of the NOCC makes it impossible for the defendants to respond to it. For the same reason, I am not able to parse the 391 pages of the improperly drafted NOCC and indicate whether paragraphs, categories or claims should remain in, or should be struck. That is not the proper role of this court. It is counsel’s obligation to draft pleadings that do not offend the mandatory requirements of the Rules.

On those few pages, starting at #15, the Law Society not only roasts Action4Canada, but goes on to explain how pleadings should be drafted. Again, this is written for articling students working towards a license. It’s not designed for 30+ year veterans of the profession.

Bonnie Henry, John Horgan, David Eby, Adrian Dix, and all the others are not scared by this lawsuit. In fact, if any of them are aware of it, they’re probably having a good laugh. How could anyone be gullible enough to donate, or to be a client?

5. Pleading the Facts
Plead a “concise statement of the material facts giving rise to the claim”: SCCR 3-1(2)(a).

The “material facts” are those facts that are essential to forming a complete cause of action or defence, as the case may be: Young v. Borzoni, 2007 BCCA 16 at para. 20. The evidence that tends to prove those facts should not be pleaded (SCCR3-7(1)). Suppose the issue is whether X has authority to make a certain contract on behalf of the defendant. It is sufficient for the plaintiff to plead that “the defendant employed X as agent to make the contract on his behalf” or that “the defendant held out X as having authority to make the contract on his behalf.” It will be unnecessary and improper to plead that “X has been employed by the defendant for many years to execute contracts of this type on his behalf” or that “the defendant informed the plaintiff that X was the defendant’s agent.”

The material facts part of the pleadings should not include matters of law. However, if a particular statute is relied upon as the foundation of a claim or defence, you must plead the facts necessary to bring the case within the statute.

When pleading the material facts, be clear and brief. There should be no ambiguity in the allegations. Set out each separate allegation of fact in a separate paragraph, so that the defence, in responding to the pleading, will admit or deny each fact separately. The danger in combining facts in a larger paragraph is that defence counsel, in seeking to deny any part of that paragraph, would deny it all. That would put plaintiff’s counsel to the burden of proving facts that might not really be in dispute.

In drafting allegations of fact, avoid colouring them, as that might force the other side to deny what would otherwise be basic facts. For example, in a motor vehicle action, it is good practice for the plaintiff’s counsel to set out the fact of a collision (which likely will be admitted) and then in a separate paragraph set out the allegations of negligence of the defendant (which will be denied). Avoid, for example, combining the facts and allegations of lawful right or fault. If the pleadings state, for example, that the plaintiff was “driving in a lawful manner south on Granville Street,” then defence counsel will deny the entire allegation.

When drafting pleadings, it is often helpful to refer to a precedent as a guideline. However, never follow a precedent blindly. You should know what context it was created for, and how you should adapt or modify it. For example, some plaintiffs’ counsel make it their practice to allege in every case that the defendant driver’s ability to drive was impaired by alcohol or a drug. If the plaintiff is a passenger in the defendant’s motor vehicle, such a pleading opens the door to the defence to plead that the plaintiff was contributory negligent or accepted the risk of riding with an impaired driver. Furthermore, if the defendant was impaired, that fact might affect their insurance coverage. You should consider precedents carefully and modify them as needed.

6. Pleading the Relief Sought
The plaintiff must set out the relief sought against each named defendant: SCCR 3-1(2)(b). Tell the court what your client wants: for example, an injunction, a declaration, or damages.

Consider carefully any declarations you may be able to obtain from the court. When a court makes a declaration, it “declares” what the law or a fact is. It is not making an order. Declarations can establish a party’s standing and legal rights, which can significantly determine the outcome of a proceeding.

Having a role in this book both in 2023 and 2024 is hardly something to be proud of. This is an educational book for articling students, who haven’t even passed the bar. It’s not just the the NOCC was bad, it’s that the LSBC thinks it’s worth using as an example.

The Action4Canada case could have been so much better if this section had been observed when drafting the NOCC.

  • There should have been short, concise paragraphs, each alleging a single fact. Instead, many paragraphs were between a half and full page each, containing many unrelated allegations. This made it simpler for Defendants to simply deny everything.
  • By not having clear and concise facts — many of which may have been admitted — the Plaintiffs would now be put through the time and expense of having to prove everything.
  • The allegations weren’t clear and ambiguous at all. The who, what, where, when, why and how were typically missing, or contained in hundreds of footnotes.
  • Counsel didn’t make the allegations plain and neutral. There were all kinds of inflammatory accusations thrown in, but without the specific detail to back them up.
  • Legal arguments should not be made within the facts being pleaded. While it’s true that enough facts have to be alleged to support the law being cited, this is not the place for argument.
  • It wasn’t clear what relief was sought. That section was 45 pages, and very repetitive.
  • Despite being 45 pages, it wasn’t clear which Defendants were being asked to pay what money to which Plaintiffs. People should not be left guessing.

Will Action4Canada Appeal be in the 2025 edition?

The PLTC doesn’t really get into Appeals in great detail. However, there are 2 parts about the A4C Appeal that make it a good contender for another honourable mention.

(1) Page 101 addresses in a fair amount of detail the concept of costs. These are to partially compensate successful parties. They’re also almost entirely discretionary, and an Appellate Court will typically not interfere with them.

(2) Page 99 does briefly address some of the principles in appealing. It’s possible that the LSBC will find it necessary to explain the difference between “orders” and “reasons”. Hopefully, this means that other lawyers don’t waste time filing frivolous Appeals.

Once again, these books are aimed at aspiring lawyers, not established veterans with decades of experience.

It’s comical that at least 2 defamation lawsuits were filed for criticizing the quality of such work. The people responsible for those also make far worse accusations about being “paid agitators”. Will any more of these cases follow?

LSBC TRAINING MANUAL
(1) https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/becoming-a-lawyer-in-bc/admission-program/professional-legal-training-course/
(2) https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/becoming-a-lawyer-in-bc/admission-program/professional-legal-training-course/faq-pltc/
(3) LSBC Civil Instruction Manual 2023
(4) LSBC Civil Instruction Manual 2024

ACTION4CANADA APPEAL DOCUMENTS:
(1) A4C Notice Of Appeal September 28 2022
(2) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – VIHA
(3) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – BC Defendants
(4) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – Attorney General of Canada
(5) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – Peter Kwok, Translink
(6) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Appearance – BC Ferries, Brittney Sylvester
(7) A4C Appeal – Appeal Book – Appellant
(8) A4C Appeal – Appeal Book – Respondent VIH And PHC
(9) A4C Appeal – Appeal Record – Stand Alone Respondents VIHA
(10) A4C Appeal – Appeal Record – Stand Alone
(11) A4C Appeal – Factum – Appellant
(12) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent Attorney General Of Canada
(13) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent BC Ferries and Brittney Sylvester
(14) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent HMK -Provincial Defendants
(15) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent Peter Kwok and Translink
(16) A4C Appeal – Factum – Respondent VIHA and Providence Health
(17) A4C Appeal – Consent Order – Factum, Time Limits
(18) A4C Appeal – Change In Representation – BC Defendants
(19) A4C Appeal – Notice Of Hearing February 2024
(20) CanLII Decision In Action4Canada Appeal

ACTION4CANADA BCSC DOCUMENTS:
(1) A4C BCSC – Notice Of Civil Claim
(2) A4C BCSC – Response to Civil Claim (Health Authority Defendants)
(3) A4C BCSC – Response to Civil Claim (Provincial Defendants)
(4) A4C BCSC – Affidavit No 1 of Rebecca Hill
(5) A4C BCSC – Notice of Application (AG and RCMP applies to strike)
(6) A4C BCSC – Notice of Application (Provincial Defendants applies to strike)
(7) A4C BCSC – Notice of Application (Translink applies to strike)
(8) A4C BCSC – Application Response (Health Authority Defendants consent to strike)
(9) A4C BCSC – Application Response (BC Ferries consents to strike)
(10) A4C BCSC – Application Response (AG and RCMP consent to Prov. strike application)
(11) A4C BCSC – Application Response (Translink consents to HA Defendants strike application)
(12) A4C BCSC – Application Response (Translink consents to Prov. strike application)
(13) A4C BCSC – Affidavit No 2 of Rebecca Hill
(14) A4C BCSC – Application Record (to strike)
(15) A4C BCSC – Application Response (all plaintiffs)
(16) A4C BCSC – Amended Application Response (all plaintiffs)
(17) A4C BCSC – Transcript Application To Strike
(18) A4C BCSC – Reasons For Striking NOCC In Its Entirety
(19) A4C BCSC – Order striking pleadings
(20) A4C BCSC – Order striking pleading in its entirety with costs payable forthwith
(21) A4C BCSC – Appointment to assess bill of costs for Kwok and Translink
(22) A4C BCSC – Notice of Discontinuance (Kimberly Woolman & Estate of Jaqueline Woolman)
(23) A4C BCSC – Notice of Discontinuance (Amy Muranetz)
(24) A4C BCSC – Notice of Discontinuance (Federico Fuoco & Fire Productions Ltd.)

OTHER:
(1) https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2022/2022bcsc1507/2022bcsc1507.html
(2) https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/Website/media/Shared/docs/becoming/material/civil.pdf
(3) https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/168_2009_01#rule3-1
(4) https://justice.gov.bc.ca/cso/index.do
(5) https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/120_2022a#division_d0e3656
(6) https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2022/2022bcca450/2022bcca450.html#par10