Canadaland Inc. and its founder Jesse Brown will pay a total of $885,000 in damages and costs to Theresa Kielburger, an 82-year-old retired Toronto schoolteacher and the mother of WE Charity co-founders Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger, to settle her defamation lawsuit.
The lawsuit centred on Canadaland’s key claim in The White Saviors podcast series: that Mrs. Kielburger had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable donations and deposited them into a family bank account. It was a foundational allegation on which Canadaland built its broader thesis that the Kielburger family had personally and improperly benefited from WE Charity. That claim is now formally retracted.
The court found that Mr. Brown was in possession of the very documents that disproved it and never mentioned them. He never contacted Mrs. Kielburger before publication.
“Theresa Kielburger has spent her life helping people. She raised the sons who built one of Canada’s most recognized children’s charities,” stated Peter Downard, counsel for Mrs. Kielburger. “The settlement provides her with the vindication she deserves.”
“Mr. Brown recklessly attacked Mrs. Kielburger, who has always been a real force for good in the world,” added co-counsel William McDowell. I am glad that we were able to achieve this public vindication for her."
Settlement Terms
Under the settlement terms, Mr. Brown appeared in open court and read a full retraction and apology aloud. The full apology must be posted...
The Kristo Asafo Mission of Ghana has rejected claims that former Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament, Sarah Adwoa Safo, was shot during an incident at the church’s property at Kwabenya, describing...