QUEBEC – Oft-sued former Quebec radio show host André Arthur, now an independent federal MP, has lost his bid for a judicial review of the libel judgement against him and his former employers Cogeco Inc and Métromédia.
In a decision released last week, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected his appeal request, meaning Arthur and his former employers, possibly including Cogeco’s directors at the time, will have to pay $370,000 to former Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson and his wife Suzanne Marcil.
Of that amount, Arthur will have to pay $50,000 himself because he repeated the libellous statements shortly after the initial court judgement in 2002 when he was no longer legally sheltered by his contract with Cogeco and Métromédia.
Arthur lost his radio seat last December when his contract was not renewed by Radio Nord, the new owners of CKNU-FM, a small station in Donnacona whose reach extends to Quebec City. It had been owned by Genex Communications, which also ran CHOI-FM, the former home of shock jock Jeff Fillion, who now, as reported by Cartt.ca, operates a web pay-radio site, RadioPirate.com.
A month later, however, the 62-year old Arthur won his seat in the House of Commons (Portneuf Jacques Cartier), and in April was named to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology. The committee partly oversees the CRTC, which had frequently criticized Arthur’s on-air behaviour during his three-decade radio career.
Arthur, who still pursues his hobby-job as a tour bus driver, did not respond to phone messages.
The libel case goes back to 1998 when Johnson was Quebec Minister of Industry. Arthur alleged on his talk shows, carried by stations in Quebec and Montreal, that Johnson was involved in granting a subsidy to a ski resort whose principal shareholder was the former husband of Suzanne Marcil.
Both the Quebec Superior Court and the Quebec Court of Appeal found that the evidence showed otherwise, and that Arthur’s comments had damaged the reputation of both Johnson and Marcil. The initial judgement awarded $534,000 in damages, which would have been the largest libel award ever in Quebec. It was reduced to $370,000 by the Quebec Court of Appeal in its ruling last February.
The Appeal Court ruling also has significance for the directors of Cogeco.
It endorsed the view of Superior Court Judge Carole Julien who, in her October 2002 ruling, singled them out as being partly responsible.
The judge said they were aware of Arthur’s reputation when he was hired and demonstrated, through the contract with him, that they were willing to accept the risks. Further, when they were informed of Arthur’s statements attacking the integrity and reputations of Johnson and Marcil, “they did not react, even after the respondents sent a demand letter”, she wrote.
She said “it is difficult to find a more flagrant case of wilful blindness”, and that the evidence is sufficient enough “to establish error of omission” on the part of the directors at that time.
The Appeal Court ruling also discussed the value of Arthur’s contract, suggesting he could afford to pay the $50,000 in damages. Annual fees, including a percentage of revenue from ads using his voice, paid to Arthur’s company totalled $657,150 in the period ending Sept. 30, 1998, the judge noted.
Glenn Wanamaker is Cartt.ca’s Quebec Editor.
