TORONTO — British MP George Galloway has threatened to sue Bernie Farber, CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress, for allegedly calling him a terrorist.
Bernie Farber
Galloway told a crowd in Ottawa via an Internet connection, “Ihave instructed my lawyers in Canada to bring an action for defamation against Bernie Farber… and CTV for comments he made that they allowed him to make,” the Ottawa Citizen reported. “I am not a terrorist. I am not a threat to Canada’s national security.”
Contacted by The CJN, Farber said “there will be no apology.” He also noted “the irony that this poster boy for free speech had absolutely no compunction in trying to silence anyone who wants to criticize his work.”
The threatened suit was the latest development in a week that saw a Federal Court judge decline to overturn a government decision to bar Galloway from Canada.
Lawyers for the Respect party MP failed to convince Federal Court Judge Luc Martineau to issue an injunction to temporarily set aside a decision by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) that prohibited Galloway from entering the country. Despite that ruling, Galloway addressed an audience of 300 or more at Toronto’s Metropolitan United Church via video link from New York. He challenged Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to “come out and debate me like a man.”
Kenney had declined to exercise his ministerial discretion to overrule the CBSA decision, which found Galloway had violated Canadian law by providing funds to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. Galloway was part of a group of activists that delivered humanitarian aid to Gaza following Israel’s recent military operation in the territory. He also presented Hamas with $45,000 in cash.
In a 14-page ruling, Martineau said, “I am not ready to exempt Mr. Galloway from the provisions in the [Immigration and Refugee Protection] Act.
“The admission of a foreign national to this country is a privilege determined by statute, regulation or otherwise and not a matter of right,” he wrote.
Galloway supporters argued the ban was a free speech issue in which the government tried to stifle criticism of its Afghanistan and Middle East policies.
Meanwhile, in Quebec City, the provincial Liberal government unanimously rejected a motion by Québec solidaire MNA Amir Khadir asking the Ottawa to change its mind and allow Galloway to enter Canada. The motion was supported by the opposition Parti Québécois, but the government, which has a slight majority, was able to prevent it from coming to the floor. Galloway spoke at Concordia University in November 2006.
