Defamation trial begins for former UBC professor Steven Galloway
One defendant apologized days before the trial, which follows a Supreme Court of Canada ruling.
Analysis
A defamation trial began Monday in B.C. Supreme Court for author and former professor Steven Galloway, who says he was falsely accused of sexual assault. Galloway was the chair of the creative writing program at the University of British Columbia when online rumours spread that he had assaulted a student. He was never charged with a crime but was fired from his position. A report commissioned by UBC and written by retired judge Mary Ellen Boyd later concluded the accusations against him were unsubstantiated.
The defendants in the lawsuit include his accuser, known only as A.B., and others who repeated the allegations online. They had argued their speech was protected, taking the case to the Supreme Court of Canada. The high court refused to hear the appeal last year, letting stand a lower court ruling that rejected the defendants' arguments. In that 2021 ruling, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elaine Adair wrote that accepting their position would mean "there would be no legal consequences of any kind" to publicly calling someone a rapist.
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An apology before trial
Days before the trial was set to begin, one of the defendants issued a public apology. Chelsea Rooney said in a lengthy statement posted online and published in the National Post that she was "genuinely sorry for the part I played in causing that harm." She said she communicated serious and unproven allegations against Galloway and was involved in collecting complaints to build a case against him. Rooney acknowledged that her statements caused others to believe the allegations were true. "I recognize that statements and communications about allegations of this nature can cause profound harm to a person’s reputation, work, personal life, and family, and did in fact do so to Mr. Galloway," her statement said. She added that because she did not know the allegations were true, she should not have communicated them publicly on social media. Rooney said she had reflected on Galloway's efforts over the years to clear his name. "I should not have listened only to one side, or allowed that one-sided understanding to shape my communications, my tweets, or my participation in the process," she wrote. She noted that Galloway had considered her a friend before the allegations and had helped her on multiple occasions.
A long legal path
The trial is the latest step in a legal saga that began nearly a decade ago. Galloway was accused in November 2015. He filed his defamation lawsuit in 2018 against numerous people, including fellow professors, a former student and others who repeated the statements online. The Supreme Court of Canada's dismissal of the defendants' appeal in 2024 cleared the way for this week's trial. Galloway, the author of novels including "The Cellist of Sarajevo," lost his tenured position at UBC following the allegations. His lawyer, Dan Burnett, said in an interview after the Supreme Court of Canada ruling that his client's "reputation and life were devastated by the criminal allegations." The defendants had argued to the high court that accusations of sexual assault must be protected speech, true or not, and "regardless of the circumstances in which the statement was published."
Justice Adair's ruling countered that extreme position. "It is difficult to see how something so extreme and potentially reckless would be in the public interest," her decision said. Rooney was among the defendants who fought the defamation case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Her apology is posted on a website alongside eight other apologies from people who say they regret communications or actions that accused Galloway of sexual assault. Rooney concluded her statement by referencing her own past acknowledgement of Galloway's support. "In my 2014 book, I thanked him as someone 'who encouraged me to commit to writing at a very important time in my life.' That was a true statement," she wrote. The trial is now underway to determine the consequences for the statements made about him.
With files from The Canadian Press, CBC News and CityNews