Media coverage - Edmonton Woman's "Freedom to Tweet" article

An excellent article from Edmonton Woman about AUPE's attempt to silence Kathleen Smith for supporting us.

The article starts on page 10.

In a recent tweet Kathleen explained what makes Artspace special: "I walked into #Artspace and was immediately surrounded with warmth & love.  They shared their homes and their lives with me."

Artspace is a housing cooperative that is open to everybody.  However, it has a unique feature: 29 units have been adapted to meet the needs of residents with physical disabilities.  The dispute at Artspace is about the wages workers receive for the assisted living program.

The videos that Kathleen saw show AUPE members on the picket line using air horns, loud speakers and abusive language to the residents of Artspace.

Kathleen says that the residents have "fought their entire lives to live independently.  To not be institutionalized.  And in some cases, they have fought just to be permitted to live.  They have spent their entire lives fighting.  And no one was listening to their stories in all of this."

But Kathleen was listening.

Thank you, Kathleen, for listening.  There is no doubt that the relative peace we are "enjoying" right now is directly because of exposure in social media to what AUPE has been doing to our community.  No amount of calls to the police did it, and what little exposure there was in television or print media had little effect.  It took this blog, and social media attention, to finally get things to tone down, even if they aren't really all that much better; just less blatant.

It's a shame that, rather than admit their errors and take corrective action, AUPE has instead chosen file their SLAPP suit against you.

This is a powerful quote.

"One of the things I discuss online a lot," she says, "is freedom of expression in this country and how important it is.  And how much of an issue I have with those that think that freedom of expression or any charter rights only applies to people we approve of because that's not the way it works.  We all think we're fighting the great evil, but when we're actively seeking to deny others their rights, we're hurting ourselves.  And people need to wake up and start getting that message."

How very true.

Thank you, Kathleen, for standing up for Artspace, and thank you, Edmonton Woman, for such a well written piece.  You even got the description of Artspace right!

For those new to this page, here is the security montage video Kathleen is referring to in her interview.





This video was given to the media, months ago.  AUPE dismissed it, partially because, as they claimed, the footage was old, and did not reflect the reality of the picket line.

In response to that claim, here is a playlist of videos from August 2nd.

[update: AUPE videos are no longer available: as part of the agreement at the end of the labour dispute, AUPE removed videos and other online content related to the dispute.]





This next playlist of videos are from August 6; you can read more about it here.

Then there's this post, about events on the mornings of Oct. 16 and Oct. 22nd.

While this post includes video that shows some of what goes on in the wee hours of the morning.

AUPE cannot deny the reality these videos show.

You can still fix this, AUPE.

You can still save at least a few shreds of dignity.

Just walk away.

In defense;

A follow up on the SLAPP suit against our online supporter, Kikki;

Kathleen has filed her Statement of Defense on October 17th.  It has been released to the media, and we have seen it, too.

Below are the statements from the file.

Another Familiar Face - Oh, the irony! (updated)

AUPE has been unusually tight-lipped about their SLAPP suit against those who dared support us online.  Perhaps, after the media attention their actions have gotten, they are hoping that if they just keep quiet, people will stop talking about it, and they can continue using the civil court system to try and intimidate people from talking about what they have done to our community since May 7.

They have, however, made a couple of public statements.  Here's one, from their website.

Let's take a closer look at this.

In late August, AUPE filed a statement of claim against three parties in regard to defamatory statements they made about our members and staff.  We did not take this action lightly, but the statements were serious enough that they required a response.

Well, they just confirmed that they filed the statement back in August, but for some reason, they sat on it until the end of September.  If these statements were so egregious as they claim, why did they wait for so long?

We consulted external legal counsel on this matter and obtained an opinion that legal action was merited.  The larger decision was weighing the need to defend our members and staff from damaging and untrue accusations against the possibility that we face further attacks for doing so.

External legal counsel, eh?  Must be nice, having unlimited funds to hire outside lawyers.  Oh, wait.  "Counsel."

Also, what "damaging and untrue accusations" were made about their members and staff?  We only know about Kathleen's tweets, one blog post from someone in Ontario that actually came to Artspace and talked to a number of people who live here (identified as a politician, except he doesn't hold any political office), and a single quote, without context, from this blog.  None of which named anybody, nor made any untrue statements.

In the face of this risk, we chose to defend the reputation of our members and staff.

Gosh, what a noble sounding way to defend their actions.  Such risk taking!  The multi-million dollar union, suing a stay-at-home mom with a twitter account, a guy in Ontario that hopes to run for office, and a non-existent Jane Doe.

Who knew AUPE was so fragile?

Defending its reputation in the courts obliges AUPE to remain silent about the nature of the false accusation.  

They claim these public tweets and posts are false and damaging their reputation, but then say they have to "remain silent about the nature of the false accusation."

How convenient.


Let's take a look at some of these tweets, seeing as how they're, you know, out there in the twitterverse.

 @_AUPE_ Members were blocking people from leaving the residence. Move out of the damn way. Those are PRIVATE CITIZENS #UnitedWithKikki

No AUPE members are named, and it's true; they were blocking all sorts of people who had nothing to do with the labour dispute. Plenty of videos to back that up.

 .@_AUPE_ Should let public know how members are harassing & abusing private residents at Art Space: youtu.be/OpAGhXrqQs4 #UnitedWithKikki

Again, no AUPE members named, and it includes a link to a video, proving the statement.

 .@_AUPE_ how bout private citizens being blocked by Art Space residents who aren't associated w/SAIL? youtu.be/z-S3qSOq-q8 #UnitedWithKikki

Another true statement, linking to a video to back it up.

 . @_AUPE_ members who harass, bully, threaten the disabled residents at the complex: youtube.com/watch?v=OpAGhX… #UnitedWithKikki . @_AUPE_ worse than blocking. They scream sirens at 8 a.m., verbally attack disabled residents, threaten. #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

Once again, a true statement, with a video link to back it up.

 . @_AUPE_ lawyer screaming threats of subpeonas at disabled residents:youtu.be/k6hakuNxoog #artspaceundersiege #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

Another true statement backed up with a link to video - including the lawyer part, since at the time, that's what we all thought he was, how he was identified in numerous media articles, and even how AUPE represented him on twitter.

 . @_AUPE_ Vids show blatant harassment. AUPE attacking private, disabled residents. youtube.com/watch?v=OpAGhX… #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

Another statement backed up with video link.

 @_AUPE_ encouraging continued harassment of private, disabled citizens at their homes is DISGUSTING. #ableg #UnitedWithKikki
 Happening at #yeg Art Space-not story @_AUPE_ telling media or public. Threats, bullying: artspaceundersiege.blogspot.ca #UnitedWithKikki

Here we have a personal opinion (that said actions, backed up by previous videos, are disgusting), with a link to this blog to back it up.

 .@_AUPE_ Yr members have created unlivable state in neighborhood. Feel proud of members attacking disabled people? #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

Another descriptive statement, describing how many Artspace members, visitors, family members and even neighbours felt, followed by a question.

How are any of these defamatory attacks on AUPE members and staff? They describe what is actually shown in the videos. What Artspace members say they feel like.

The key thing about defamation is that, if it's true, it isn't defamation*, and there is plenty of video evidence, as well as incident reports from Artspace members (some of which are posted here on the blog; visit the archives links on the right, to read them yourself).
[*update: edit on poorly phrased sentance structure]

AUPE's official statement closes with;

As a result AUPE will not be commenting on the specifics of the attacks while the matter is before the courts.  But members should be assure that in this case the law is being used as a shield, not a sword.

Uh huh.

More on that below...

Meanwhile, there was another public statement from AUPE, this time to the Edmonton Journal, in response to their Editorial.

Here it is, with commentary.

Friday October 3
Law a shield, not a sword
Re: “Use hammer sparingly,” Editorial, Oct. 1
There are hundreds of tweeters and bloggers commenting on the SAIL strike/lockout. The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has sued three individuals out of the hundreds who have commented. We welcome the free exchange of ideas and views, and of course we recognize that we are also engaged in the exercise of free speech when we picket. AUPE is very much in favour of free speech.

Uh huh.  Sure they do, and sure they are.

But only when that "free speech" is in support of them, not in opposition to them, it seems.

But almost all the bloggers and tweeters, as well as respectable media outlets and the journalists who write for them, are aware there are limits to free speech.

That one should have come with a spew alert.  I think a lot of people were wiping coffee off their monitors after reading that one.

One of those limits is very important: you cannot make a false accusation that attacks a person’s integrity and lowers their reputation in the community.

Agreed, if the accusations are false.  As we've demonstrated, however, these are not false accusations they are suing for.  They are tweets and comments that are either backed up by photo, video and witness accounts, or personal opinions and observations.

The only ones lowering AUPE's reputation in the community where the people on the picket line, engaging in the abusive behaviour.

There is recent precedent for an organization to take legal action to defend itself against false accusations. The Alberta Teachers’ Association, for instance, took such action to defend itself against accusations made by a critic on Twitter this summer. A few years ago, a Red Deer lawyer successfully defended his reputation against attacks from a provincial cabinet minister.

And what does this have to do with the price of tea in China?

Defending its reputation in the courts obliges AUPE to remain silent about the nature of the false accusation. As a result AUPE will not be commenting on the specific attacks on its reputation while the matter is before the courts.

Well, that's a first.  They certainly had no problem bringing up their labour board complaints against SAIL, even after those complaints were withdrawn.

But readers should be assured that in this case the law is being used as a shield, not a sword.

Right.  We're supposed to believe that, are we?

We've had members sharing an interesting conversation they had with their pastor, long before the strike started and about an unrelated matter, about the secular justice system.  Basically, the discussion was about how the courts are the sword, while the Word is the shield.

If we were to apply this to the current SLAPP suit against people who merely talked about what is actually happening here at Artspace, AUPE is using the sword of the courts, while claiming to take on the role that belongs to God.

Sorry, AUPE, but you are not God.

Meanwhile, this is who wrote the letter, which is so much like the statement on the AUPE website.

Mark Wells, supervisor of research, education and communications, AUPE

It's not the first time this Mark Wells has written to the journal about what's going on here.  In this letter from May 24th, he basically slanders the reputation of one of our members (yes, we have video of the incident he's talking about, too).

He's also identified in the old letter as merely an AUPE "spokesperson."  Did he get a promotion or something?

Hey, Mark.  You want to talk about defamation and false accusations?  Why don't we take a look at what that really looks like.





This is the first of 8 clips showing...

Oh.  Hold on.

Of course Mr. Wells knows what it looks like.

He's in the videos.

That's right.  Among the trio of men engaging in this elaborate street theatre in front of Artspace back on August 2nd is...

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Mark Wells, who has been identified by several people.

In the above photo, you can see him with AUPE's non-lawyer, William Rigutto, on the left in the yellow t-shirt.

The other guy in a yellow t-shirt is this guy.

That's from the David Eggen endorsement page.

Here are a few more screen caps from security video taken on August 2nd, but really, go check out the video above, so you can hear for yourself.

As you can see (and hear, if you've watched the videos), he's not just an observer, but an active participant.  And, gosh, he looks so HAPPY while doing it!

In this image, you can't see the piece of paper he's holding up, but on the video, you can see him continue to record the person driving the car he's helping block, well after he's stopped holding up the paper.

The passenger of that car was a board member.

I say "was" because she got out of the car, in hopes that they would allow the driver to go into the underground parking, once she left.

They didn't, and continued blocking that car for some time longer.

Ah, but that's not all about Mr. Wells.

Some of our members know him by another name - Mark Daley, which is the name he goes by on Facebook.

On his Facebook page, he says he works for AUPE.

But that's not the strangest thing about Mr. Wells/Daley.  We also found this.

That's right.

The guy that has written to the Edmonton Journal in defense of his employer, AUPE, is also a photographer and journalist.

That might explain how AUPE's letters get published so very quickly.

Talk about irony!  The AUPE "supervisor of research, education and communications" actually engaged in the very behaviour the exposure of which lead to the negative attention AUPE has been getting in social media.

Just a few things from the videos;

The sign he's wearing?  It says "SAIL - all subsidy, no accountability."

Of course, there IS accountability for SAIL's funding, so that's a defamatory statement right there around his neck.

In the video, they also accuse SAIL, named SAIL board members and named Artspace members, basically of fraud and embezzlement.

They also throw out accusations such as SAIL paying for the phones some people were using to record their performance.

They claim SAIL paid hundreds of dollars for pizza and entertainment for Friends of SAIL meetings.

They suggest that Artspace has shredded SAIL financial documents.

They suggest SAIL is paying a non-Artspace member illegally to make a documentary about their actions.

They threaten to subpoena the bank accounts of all Artspace members, looking for money they suggest SAIL has given us.

They threaten to subpoena all our video recordings - which would be pretty counterproductive, since not only are many of these videos already online, but they show AUPE picketers engaging in all the behaviours we've been talking about.

And so on.

Seriously.  Grab a drink and a snack, settle in and watch the videos.

If there's anyone who should be filing for defamation, it's Artspace members against Wells/Daley, Rigutto and Zimmerman.

Lucky for them, no one in Artspace has millions (pdf) in union dues to tap to pay for lawyers.


Update: Oct. 10

This post was published late Oct. 5th.  A supporter found something interesting on Oct. 6th and sent in this image.

The person had been checking out something they remembered seeing on Mark Daley's facebook page (the post in this image) when things suddenly changed.

They just happened to be looking at the same time Mark changed his profile name to Athabasca Poem.

He also removed public reference to his place of employment, and I believe that above post from May 24 is no longer viewable to the public.

We've always known that AUPE has been all over this blog, but the proof doesn't get more blatant than this!

Media Coverage: Edmonton Journal Editorial

Having broken the story about AUPE's SLAPP suit against Kathleen Smith, the Edmonton Journal had now done an editorial as well.

Wednesday’s Editorial: Use the hammer of the courts sparingly
EDMONTON JOURNAL OCTOBER 1, 2014

One of the best ways to draw attention to commentary that you find offensive is to loudly complain about it. And there are few venues in Canada that provide a bigger megaphone than its public courts.

Local social media has been abuzz for days now over the $500,000 defamation lawsuit filed by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees against a trio of people that includes Edmonton commenter Kathleen Smith (also known as KikkiPlanet) for portions of their commentary — including a series of tweets — on an ongoing labour dispute with Support for Artspace Independent Living (SAIL).

As an unlikely cross-section of supporters from across the political spectrum announces they are #unitedwithkikki against what they deem to be a frivolous lawsuit, the union has turned a debate about issues at the core of the labour dispute into a discussion about what constitutes fair comment.

Unlikely cross-section, indeed!

Support for Kathleen and - thanks to all this added attention - what AUPE has been doing to the Artspace community, has been coming from all over.  Staunch unionists are as appalled over both the suit, and AUPE's actions here, as staunch ant-unionists, and everyone in between.

There are two things both extremes have been able to agree on.  1) the defamation suit is a SLAPP suit and a terrible mistake on the union's part and 2), on seeing the videos, the behaviour of the picketers towards the community is abhorrent and should never have happened, regardless of the labour dispute.

The editorial draws comparisons between what AUPE is doing with their suit to what Justin Trudeau isn't doing to Ezra Levant.

But there is also a “fair comment” defence, which allows writers a wide degree of latitude when it comes to hurling insults. It’s defamatory to say someone is a thief if they’ve never been convicted of stealing. It’s not defamatory to call someone an idiot, a windbag or even — dare we say it — a bully or a slut. The latter word is extremely offensive, and absolutely deserves an apology if uttered. But it does not rise to the level of lawsuit.

That is why it is so bizarre to see Alberta’s biggest union, which relies on the cornerstone charter rights of free expression, association and assembly, to slap others with a lawsuit tied to commentary. We should not use the law to regulate what merely offends us. We should use it to regulate what causes individuals real harm.

It does seem bizarre, and many have wondering why they would do something that was so obviously stupid, and would damage their own reputation even more than the behaviour here at Artspace already has.

The best explanation anyone's come up with is that they've probably done this before, and it's worked. Then they would have had no reason to think it wouldn't work again.

Except that the Artspace community isn't like anything else.

Just as that piece of legislation was an out-of-proportion attack on labour groups, the AUPE’s defamation lawsuit is an over-the-top reaction to the local blogger’s alleged offence, and risks creating legal precedent on commentary and speech that could one day come back to bite its own members.

...

The call for an apology — which Trudeau received Monday from Sun Media officials, if not Levant himself — was a better move than the AUPE’s decision to reach for the big hammer of the courts. It’s the difference between demanding civility and imposing a chill on free expression.

Very true.

Well done, Edmonton Journal.

Media Coverage: Global and the Streisand Effect

After the Edmonton Journal broke the story about AUPE's SLAPP suit against people who supported us on social media, Global TV did a story and interview as well.

Strangely, the link to the video now shows a blank rather than the video, and a search on their website brings up nothing.

That's unfortunate, because it was unusually good coverage.  They even got the difference between SAIL and Artspace right.  There was only one error of note, which was a mistake in the surname of an Artspace member being interviewed.  It also had a strange ending, when it was suggested that members were frustrated with SAIL's refusal to negotiate.  I don't know who they talked to, but it was misleading.  There's nothing to negotiate, since AUPE wouldn't accept anything SAIL offered, nor will they back down from demanding more than SAIL can afford.

The print version is still there, though, and they got the correct surname there.  In fact, this is one occasion where we have a media win, for overall accuracy and good reporting.

Here's part of it.

The Statement of Claim outlines 19 of Smith’s tweets from Aug. 7 and 8, which the union claims “clearly intended, either directly or by innuendo” that union members violated the provincial Labour Relations Code.

One of Smith’s tweets listed in the Statement of Claim says “there are countless videos showing your members threatening and harassing residents. The jig is up.”

“What I’ve seen has been disturbing; there’s been air raid sirens at early morning hours, there’s been use of a blow horn to yell at residents and intimidate them,” Smith added Saturday.

Just as a reminder, this is what the labour regulations are about picketing.

III. PICKETING 

Once a lawful strike or lockout is in progress, the Code allows persons to engage in picketing and to try to persuade others not to enter the employer's place of business or do business with the employer. See: Section 84(1).The right to picket in connection with a labour dispute is subject to the following conditions:

· it must be peaceful;· it must take place only at the striking or locked-out employees' place of employment;· it must not involve acts that are otherwise unlawful.

The Board has the power under section 84 of the Code to regulate lawful picketing. It will do so where necessary to maintain the lawful character of the picketing and preserve the peace. The parties may themselves reach agreement on picketing protocols. See: Section 84(2)(b), (3), (4); Cargill Foods v. UFCW Local 1118 [1997] Alta.L.R.B. LR-025.

And about misconduct.

... a course of conduct of incitement, intimidation, coercion, undue influence, provocation, infiltration or any similar course of conduct intended to prevent, interfere with or break up lawful activities likely to induce a breach of the peace in respect of a strike or lockout.

I invite you to see the videos yourself (there's currently 78 of them online) and make your own decision about whether or not the picketing of our homes were a violation of the Labour Relations Code.

Also, this is where the place of employment is.

And where they usually hang out.

This post goes into more detail.

As for the tweets?  Here are some more of them.

 @_AUPE_ Members were blocking people from leaving the residence. Move out of the damn way. Those are PRIVATE CITIZENS #UnitedWithKikki
 .@_AUPE_ Should let public know how members are harassing & abusing private residents at Art Space: youtu.be/OpAGhXrqQs4 #UnitedWithKikki
 .@_AUPE_ how bout private citizens being blocked by Art Space residents who aren't associated w/SAIL? youtu.be/z-S3qSOq-q8 #UnitedWithKikki
 . @_AUPE_ members who harass, bully, threaten the disabled residents at the complex: youtube.com/watch?v=OpAGhX… #UnitedWithKikki . @_AUPE_ worse than blocking. They scream sirens at 8 a.m., verbally attack disabled residents, threaten. #ableg #UnitedWithKikki
 . @_AUPE_ lawyer screaming threats of subpeonas at disabled residents: youtu.be/k6hakuNxoog #artspaceundersiege #ableg #UnitedWithKikki
 . @_AUPE_ Vids show blatant harassment. AUPE attacking private, disabled residents. youtube.com/watch?v=OpAGhX… #ableg #UnitedWithKikki
 @_AUPE_ encouraging continued harassment of private, disabled citizens at their homes is DISGUSTING. #ableg #UnitedWithKikki
 Happening at #yeg Art Space-not story @_AUPE_ telling media or public. Threats, bullying: artspaceundersiege.blogspot.ca #UnitedWithKikki
 .@_AUPE_ Yr members have created unlivable state in neighborhood. Feel proud of members attacking disabled people? #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

These basically describe what was in the videos - you know, the ones that signs all over the high rise say could end up on Youtube - as well as how people living here in Artspace feel.

There's also this:

The union outlines four statements allegedly published by Tucker on his website on Aug. 18. The AUPE claims his statements were also “false and defamatory.” In the post, Tucker stated that housing cooperative residents were being “held hostage” in their homes by picketing union members.

Mr. Tucker wrote a single blog post, after having visited Artspace and talked to people who live here.

People who do, indeed, feel like we are being held hostage.

Oh, and then there's this part.

The Statement of Claim lists [Jane] Doe, the unidentified blogger, as a resident of Artspace whose blog has outlined the ongoing labour dispute.

“When we see people who have been an integral part of our community, some for more than 10 years, suddenly out on a picket line, engaging in verbal abuse, intimidation, racism, sexism and able-ism and other forms of misconduct on the picket line, it was quite the betrayal,” the blog reads.

There's one problem with this.

There is no Jane Doe.

Oh, sure, we have female admins.  We also have females who have contributed to the blog.  But the blog does not belong to anyone, and many have contributed posts, including people who don't live here.

With that in mind, it took a while to figure out which post was being quoted.  It was from this one, written at the end of July.

Funny.  AUPE keeps saying the videos don't matter, because they're old.  But old posts matter.

Go ahead and read it, and decide for yourself.  It describes the behaviour we've seen, much of it on videos already online.

Tell me; is describing what has actually happened to us, and how people are made to feel because of these actions, defamatory?

Is questioning how people can do this, day after day, defamatory?

It's only defamation if it isn't true.

This part at the end of the article is interesting.

*Editor’s note: Global News reached out to the AUPE for comment on the lawsuit, but was referred to the Statement of Civil Claim. People on the front line also declined comment. 

How interesting.

AUPE has had no problem talking about the "bad faith" complaint they filed against SAIL - even after they withdrew it, and before the filed it again.  They've had no problem with public accusations against everyone in Artspace, but especially against some members of the SAIL and Artspace boards.  But suddenly, now they don't want to talk?

AUPE was already getting a black eye over what they were doing here. It's why they pulled some leashed and the picket line quieted down.  What they should have done is kept things quiet.  Better yet, they should have stopped picketing our private homes and instead asked permission to picket on private property in front of the SAIL office.

Instead, they did this.

And have given themselves even more of a black eye.

In their attempts to intimidate people through frivolous litigation, they have triggered the Streisand Effect.

The Streisand effect is the phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely, usually facilitated by the Internet.

If the stats on the blog and videos are anything to go by, they've only succeeded in calling even more attention to what they've been doing to us in Artspace.

International attention, even.

Which means even more people are seeing for themselves what things have been like at our homes.

The people who should be most concerned about defamation are those AUPE members who are being represented, not only by the regular picketers, but by the AUPE executives and staff that have shown up here and joined right in.

They are the ones who have damaged AUPE's reputation.

We're learning all kinds of new things

Thanks to AUPE's actions here at Artspace since May 7, we've all been going through a steep learning curve.  So much of this has been completely outside of our experiences.

With AUPE's latest litigious actions, we now know about something called SLAPP.

From the wikipedia entry:

A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.[1]

Wow.  That sounds like what AUPE has been trying to do with SAIL before the Labour Board!

The typical SLAPP plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat. 

Well, I don't know if AUPE expects to win or not.  We're talking about a union, with millions of dollars in union dues to finance them, going after private citizens.  I'd guess it's that whole fear and intimidation part they're really after.  That and costing them lots of money to defend themselves.

Abuser Tactics Bingo, anyone?  Oh, wait... is that defamatory?

The difficulty is that plaintiffs do not present themselves to the Court admitting that their intent is to censor, intimidate or silence their critics. Hence, the difficulty in drafting SLAPP legislation, and in applying it, is to craft an approach which affords an early termination to invalid abusive suits, without denying a legitimate day in court to valid good faith claims.

Funny it should be stated this way, what with AUPE filing so many bad faith complaints over the years.  That and union busting seems to be their automatic go-to position.

SLAPPs take various forms. The most common used to be a civil suit for defamation, which in the English common law tradition was a tort. The common law of libel dates to the early 17th century and (unusual in English law) is reverse onus, meaning, once someone alleges a statement is libelous, the burden was on the defendant to prove that it is not. In England and Wales, the Defamation Act 2013 removed most of the uses of defamation as a SLAPP by requiring the proof of special damage. Various abusive uses of this law including political libel (criticism of the political actions or views of others) have ceased to exist in most places, but persist in some jurisdictions (notably British Columbia and Ontario) where political views can be held as defamatory.

Reverse onus?  Yeah.  I can see that as being a problem.  I wonder how Alberta has dealt with this?

A common feature of SLAPPs is forum shopping, wherein plaintiffs find courts that are more favourable towards the claims to be brought than the court in which the defendant (or sometimes plaintiffs) live.[citation needed]

Can that even happen here?  Does our system allow for picking and choosing courts? Or would that be judges?

Other widely mentioned elements of a SLAPP are the actual effectiveness at silencing critics, the timing of the suit, inclusion of extra or spurious defendants (such as relatives or hosts of legitimate defendants), inclusion of plaintiffs with no real claim (such as corporations that are affiliated with legitimate plaintiffs), making claims that are very difficult to disprove or rely on no written record, ambiguous or deliberately mangled wording that lets plaintiffs make spurious allegations without fear of perjury, refusal to consider any settlement (or none other than cash), characterization of all offers to settle as insincere, extensive and unnecessary demands for discovery, attempts to identify anonymous or pseudonymous critics, appeals on minor points of law, demands for broad rulings when appeal is accepted on such minor points of law, and attempts to run up defendants' costs even if this clearly costs more to the plaintiffs.[citation needed]

Interesting.  

Very interesting.

Wow. Can they make themselves look even worse?

There are so many ways AUPE's actions against the Artspace community has made themselves look bad.

The first was their decision to picket our private homes, rather than the employer, SAIL.  We've heard a number of justifications from them about this; they've defined us as a long term care facility, they've claimed that because "management" lives there, our entire community is fair game, and they've told some of our members outright that, to them, Artspace and SAIL are one and the same.

The other was for them to be so aggressive and adversarial, right from day one.  They targeted everyone, including those who had nothing to do with the labour dispute.  The justification we heard for that was that, since all Artspace members were co-owners of the co-op, that meant they were also all co-owners of SAIL, therefore we were all fair game.

Which, of course, isn't how things work, but it was good enough for them.

They could have picketed the SAIL office; they would have gotten permission to do so on private property, seeing as how most Artspace members are actually very pro-union and respect people's right to strike and picket.

Then there were things like the use of the air raid siren, the frequent trespassing, verbal abuse, racism, verbal abuse, the bull horn and its sound effects (loud enough that many mistook it for the air raid siren), sudden, evening street parties, and so on.  Oh, and Avocatzo leaving all those comments on the blog.  Where are you, Avocatzo?  We haven't had a comment from you in ages!

Let's not forget the frivolous complaints being made against SAIL to the labour board.

After almost 2 months of AUPE's siege here at Artspace, it was discovering their plans to hold a party at our home on Canada Day, with an open invitation to any and all, for free Fat Franks hot dogs, that lead to this blog being created.  This was our very first blog post (posts before then were backdated to the appropriate dates).

After all this time, trying to call attention to what AUPE was doing to our community, this blog finally gave Artspace members, friends, family and supporters, a voice that could be neither ignored, nor silenced.  We could finally tell the world what we were experiencing, the effect it was having on us, on many levels, the damage they were doing to us, and how it made us feel.

It took a while, but thanks to support from some amazing people on social media, with a few brave attempts from regular media, eyeballs were finally turning towards what was happening to us here at Artspace.

One positive thing about this attention is that it forced AUPE's picketers to start to tone down the abusive behaviour; sort of.  Then they tried some damage control.

Problem is, the damage is already done.  The effects their abusive behaviour has had on our members doesn't just suddenly end, because things are quieter now.  Especially when they go and do things like this, this and this.

So even when they're trying to behave, they still end up making themselves look really bad.

But now, they've really gone and jumped the shark.

Just take a look at what's been called to our attention.

AUPE sues tweeter, blogger in $500,000 defamation suit
By Ryan Cormier, Edmonton Journal September 26, 2014

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has filed a $500,000 defamation lawsuit against a local tweeter, an Ontario politician and an unidentified blogger for Internet statements about an ongoing labour strike.

The lawsuit, filed in late August, claims that Kathleen Smith ­— known on Twitter as @KikkiPlanet­ — and Jason Tucker, a politician seeking the Conservative nomination in the new federal riding of Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas made “false and defamatory statements” about the union.

That's right.  AUPE has filed suit against some of our supporters.  Kathleen's supportive tweets were the catalyst that finally forced AUPE to pull back the abusive behaviour, and for that, we are grateful.  What's amazing is that they've included someone who's written a single blog post about us, after coming to Artspace for our 100 Day vigil and spending time talking to members about what's been going on.

One. Blog. Post.

From a guy in Hamilton.

Wow.

Oh, and this...

The suit also lists an unidentified Jane Doe as a defendant that they believe is an Artspace resident whose blog has detailed the ongoing labour dispute.

Well, we know who they think runs this blog.  They've mentioned it often enough when they harass her.

Problem is, as has been stated numerous times, this blog isn't one person.

Oh, sure, it started off with just one person physically starting it, but that changed within days.  There are several admins, the number of which changes as people's abilities to assist changes.  We even have someone who volunteers as an editor for those who have difficulty writing.  Then there are the contributors, which includes people who don't actually live in Artspace.

There is no one person who owns and runs this blog.  There is no one person who writes the posts.

What we have done is talk about what has happened to us, and the effect it has had on us.

We've also started uploading some of the security video, which they knew full well could happen, since there are signs all over the high rise saying so.

We have made what is happening here available for the general public to see.

All anyone has to do is check out the videos.  If anything has defamed AUPE, it's their own picketers behaviour.

Oh, and speaking of defamation...

This suit just makes themselves look even worse, and the fall out is already starting.

Here are a few quotes from Facebook (they're public, but I won't include names; you never now - AUPE might try to sue them, too!), starting with:

The AUPE has filed a law suit against me as a result of my advocating for the victims of their activities at Artspace. The filed claim includes a monetary amount for damages.
So not only have they victimized the people of Artspace, the AUPE will attempt to silence private citizens who stand up to advocate for Artspace residents.

Somehow - I suspect suing an advocate will make AUPE look even worse. Face-palm.

Very important! Please read. Please please please.....and like this link to support Kiki Planet aka Kathleen Smith.

Our libel and slander and defamation laws are some of the most restrictive in this supposedly free country. The legislation regarding journalistic responsibility now includes bloggers. Unfortunately, most bloggers do not have money and legal defence team on call, and an employer to frame the issue in any way. This is ridiculous.

When the likes of Ezra Levant can impugn Trudeau and turn an innocent and sweet photo into a scene from Game of Thrones, without anyone having a hairy fit or talking lawsuits ( well he HAS decided not to engage with Sun Media) it makes me wonder how THIS situation can even exist.

It makes me wonder if my highlighting this situation will end up costing me time and money.

It makes me right pissed off.

I love MY union. It isn't this union. But it is a union. And this situation makes me, as a union supporter, look bad.

And... While I am not personally involved in this situation, I have a friend who has had to leave Artspace, because of PTSD rearing it's ugly head, as he went through months of what has been described and recorded and disseminated- by KiKi and others named in similar lawsuits.

That is complete crap. My friend should be able to live in his HOME without being afraid and anxious as to what is going on just outside the main doors.

How can this happen? Seriously- all of this- how can this actually happen? In Canada...
Still looking for that new planet. If anyone has a lead or two, I would appreciate it about now....

This seems monumentally stupid on the AUPE's part, if only because there's heaps of video evidence of the stuff that Kathleen Smith was talking about in her tweets. It's also despicable, given that it's clearly a SLAPP and an attempt to punish someone for telling the truth - and deter others from doing the same.

I already was pretty sure I knew what was going on (I have my ability to put two and two together), so I am THRILLED to see Ryan's article. Guess what AUPE? Not only did you pick the wrong woman to mess with, now EVERYONE's gonna know exactly what type of asses you're being over the whole ArtSpace situation. Think the truth was bad enough coming out of the Ginger's mouth? Let's see how you like it when EVERYONE else weighs in!
On a more serious note, do I tell you often enough how honoured I am to be your friend and have your example of how to be fearless when it comes to stating the truth and helping others? You are amazing & I love you!

What a joke! There is video, photo, and testimonial evidence of ALL the accusations. Surely the courts can't take this seriously?! I've been to Artspace. I've witnessed the tears, the fear, and heard the concerns. Don't back down! It's about time these jerks got put in their place!!

Ha! A defamation suit only works if the criticism is groundless and a lie. Nice try, AUPE. Funny how they charge you with harassment, when they are the ones harassing you, a private citizen, who has the right to call it as she sees it and speak out.

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms
---Rights and freedoms in Canada
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
Fundamental Freedoms
---Fundamental freedoms
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:(a) freedom of conscience and religion;(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and(d) freedom of association.
http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/D07.pdf
In other words, if it is true then it is not defamation!

There are many more.

Then there's twitter.

Can you actually libel a union, as opposed to an individual? Can you by extension libel a corporation or a government? #honestlyasking

AUPE is suing @KikkiPlanet? I doubt they even have a legal case, but from a p-r perspective, it's disastrous. This will never get to court.

@Paulatics @KikkiPlanet Wow, this already looks so bad on the AUPE.Now this? Suing people for having an opinion.

@KikkiPlanet You know I'm really not sure they considered the PR and comms disaster this will be. Not so clever eh? ;)

And these are just what came out within hours of the Journal's article being posted.

Seriously, AUPE; who thought this was a good idea?  You're just digging yourselves into a deeper and deeper hole.

Well, one thing's for sure. It's going to call a lot more attention to this blog and all those videos.

Thanks.

If you're visiting this blog because of the Edmonton Journal article, please feel free to go through the posts and the videos and decide for yourselves.

Make sure you subscribe to the youtube channel, because - slowly but surely - more videos are making their way online.

Just like the signs all around the high rise said could happen.

You can start with this unusually long video, from early in the strike.