Readers ask - … is there not some way to continue the endeavour?

News 100 yellowBy the publisher

February 9th, 2016

BURLINGTON, ON

The comments have been gratifying – than you.

A number of people have asked if there was not some way I could continue with the endeavour.

The Gazette needed funding. We believed we could become financially sustainable by selling advertising space – and we did sell some.

I just wasn’t able to both cover the editorial events, write the copy and sell advertising.

The lack of a personal income that would cover my basic living costs has put me in a situation where I have to move from the space I live in and re-focus my personal life.

Without adequate working capital – it just wasn’t possible to keep it alive – right now my focus is on keeping myself alive. There were a number of opportunities that just didn’t work out – people weren’t able to do what they thought or wanted to do.

Adi - Saud and Tarif

Saud and Tarif Adi.

Is there a relationship between the Adi development Group Libel notice? Your damn right there was. They didn’t have a case – and I didn’t have the dollars to fight them.

Another day? Perhaps. I am not the only person who has been bullied by this developer.

While the Gazette is no longer able to attend events and write reports, I do feel a responsibility to expand on what happened.

The following was sent to me earlier today by a colleague. No one wants to put their name on anything any more – we learned that from the Air Park libel case which should see the inside of a court room in the near future.

“I sent an inquiry to a friend who used to practice law – he of course recommends that you hire a lawyer (which he is no longer) – but he said he’d be interested in taking a look at the articles for which you have been served.

I hope you don’t mind – I just told him what I saw on the Gazette site plus inquired about SLAPP. Here is his comment…

” I will have to look into this a bit, please send me the article and any other information you can (statement of claim of the plaintiffs) if available.

“Generally, the law of libel in Canada favours the defendant. There is special protection for fair comment by professional journalists. Unless the plaintiffs are specifying particular damages, these matters can usually be settled by a commitment from the defendant to publish a suitable apology in the publication. The plaintiff is required to prove specific damages in a libel suit. This is unlike slander where no damages have to be proved.

These protections existed before and on top of SLAPP legislation. I will have to look at that law to see if they are altered in anyway and what is involved in invoking SLAPP.
However, bottom line, I do not believe your publisher can avoid hiring a lawyer.

Keep in mind that I am no longer a lawyer (I resigned from the Law Society long ago). Anything I say is not to be taken as legal advice, and your publisher should not act upon it without first consulting a lawyer competent in the field.”

I am just not in a position to hire a lawyer – the one I have hired is gracious when it comes to paying invoices.

There is a considerable amount of documentation related to the Adi Notice of Libel that we will publish in the next few days. The least we can do is let our readers see a fuller picture.

The issue for the Adi’s was what we wrote about their Nautique project – a planned 26 story tower at the intersection of Martha and Lakeshore Road.  The city knew it had a problem on its hands the day they first learned of the project.  While Council – meeting as a city council, didn’t get  chance to vote on the project – council had made its views known – the building was too high – the lot was too small.

There appeared to be a consensus which got put in doubt when  a reader sent us the following.

Craven retweetThe Ontario Municipal Board hearing at which Adi will ask that there project be approved takes place in March.

The comments made by our readers are worth your time.  They give you a glimpse of how media works and doesn’t work in Burlington.

Return to the Front page
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Comments are closed.