PM, ambassador settle defamation suit filed by would-be candidate, ex-Liberal MP
OTTAWA — An out-of-court settlement has been reached in a long-running defamation suit filed against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. by a would-be Liberal candidate and her former-MP husband.
The lawsuit was initiated almost four years ago by Christine Innes after she was barred from running for the Liberal party in a federal byelection in the Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina and further prohibited from seeking a Liberal nomination in any riding for the 2015 general election.
David MacNaughton, who was the party’s Ontario campaign co-chair at the time, cited “bullying and intimidation” tactics employed by the Innes campaign team — specifically by Innes’ husband, former Liberal MP Tony Ianno — as the reason for the decision.
Innes filed suit in April 2014 against Trudeau, then leader of the third party, and MacNaughton, seeking $1.5 million in damages to her reputation; Ianno joined the suit a few months later, seeking another $1.5 million for damage to his reputation, lost business opportunities and emotional suffering.