IN THE COURT OF QUEEN’S BENCH OF
JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF EDMONTON
Q.B. NO. 0103 14569
BETWEEN:
FERRELL CHRISTENSEN
Plaintiff
- and -
THE NATIONAL POST COMPANY, NP HOLDINGS COMPANY, GLOBAL
COMMUNICATIONS UMITED, and DONNA LAFRAMBOISE
Defendants
ANSWERS TO
UNDERTAKINGS
FROM
EXAMINATIONS OF [name deleted]
HELD OCTOBER
22. 2002
UNDERTAKING NO. 1
To advise if deponent has any
information contrary to anything to which Ms. Laframboise has testified.
ANSWER:
We are not aware of any such information.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
Ask Mr. Whyte, Mr. Gurdon, Mr. Zivitz, Mr. Waldie and Mr. Walmsley as
to whether they have any memories of any kind that relate to this article other
than the ones that have been produced. [The
undertaking was to search for memoranda or
records, not memories. Either way,
there appears to have been no concern or cooperation here.]
ANSWER:
They do not. [As is illustrated here, all
of my lawyers' attempts to get information about behavior by the reporters'
editors were in vain.]
[Back]
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
-2-
UNDERTAKING NO. 3
Inquire into whether there were
handbooks of a general nature that would have been in existence in March of
2001 that would have governed the conduct of Ms. Laframboise and produce them
to the Defendant’s counsel to determine if
there is anything relevant to these proceedings.
ANSWER:
Nothing relevant to these proceedings has been located.
DATE ANSWERED: June11, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 4
Provide a copy of the deponent’s resume or C.V.
ANSWER:
Attached
DATE ANSWERED:
June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 5
Provide whatever information,
notes or materials you have about a National Post seminar on legal issues.
ANSWER:
There were no such materials and no notes have been
preserved.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 6
Check in the National Post
library and see if at the time Ms. Laframboise was employed there any materials
available to her relating to journalistic ethics or professional conduct.
-3-
ANSWER:
The National
Post library has the report of the Royal Commission on Newspapers (the Kent.Commission), with its eight volumes of
research studies, including Vol. 2, The Journalists; Vol. 3, Newspapers and the
Law; and Vol. 7, The Newspaper and Public
Affairs. It also has the Report of
the Special Senate Committee on the Mass Media (the
Davey Report). For evidence of
journalistic practice, the library also contains memoirs,
such as those by James Reston
(Deadline), Robert Fulford (Best Seat In the House),
Conrad Black and Douglas
Creighton; biographies of J.B. Maclean, Conrad Black,
Rupert Murdoch and Robert Maxwell;
histories such as The Rise of the Canadian
Newspaper, by Douglas Fethering,
Canadian Newspapers, The Inside Story, edited by
Walter Steward, Power and
Influence, by David Hayes (a book on the Globe and Mail),
The Monthly Epic, by Fraser
Sutherland (on Canadian magazines); and books of media
criticism, such as Gotcha! How the media Distort the News, by George
Bain,
Yesterday's News: How
Feather: The Press and
Politicians, by Allen Fotheringham.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 7
Check records and advise, subject to
any reservations to be raised about
confidential source material, as to
the identity of the reliable source referred to
on the second page, first paragraph,
third sentence of K00112 a letter to Mr.
Wagman, dated May 17, 2001.
ANSWER:
Answer will be provided.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 8
Make inquiries and advise as to the
National Post’s memberships or participation
in organizations that might govern
the ethical conduct of Donna Laframboise at
the time of the article.
-4-
ANSWER:
There are no such organizations.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 9
Search records and advise if there
was any policy or any written memorandum
reflecting the policy of performance
reviews.
ANSWER:
A section of the employee handbook
pertaining to performance reviews has been
supplied.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO.10
Advise if before the trial the
deponent acquires specific information as to the
serious harm to the professional and
personal reputations of the corporate
defendants or any employees incurred
as a result of the conduct of Christensen
complained of in the counterclaim
ANSWER:
We do not have specific information
to this effect.
DATE ANSWERED; June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 11
To the extent that undertakings of
Donna Laframboise require inquiries of the
National Post or information from
the National Post that the Post will undertake
to provide the information without
the necessity of a formal request from Ms.
Laframboise.
-5-
ANSWER:
This has not come up.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 12
Advise if there were changes to the
article, for reasons other than legal reasons,
after the final Iawyering, and to
advise what those changes were.
ANSWER:
We are aware of no such changes.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 13
Advise if there was any attempt to
edit the article, subject to the claims of
privilege.
ANSWER:
There are no surviving records or
memories of the editing, apart from
communications subject to privilege.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING NO. 14
Apart from the changes in the
article made by or made on the basis of legal
advice, if any of the persons who
reviewed Ms. Laframboise’s draft articles
made any suggestions for changes.
ANSWER:
There are no surviving records or
memories of such changes.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
-6-
UNDERTAKING NO. 15
Make inquires and advise as to how
it came about that the picture of Ms.
Malenfant appeared in the article.
ANSWER:
The only person mentioned
in the article of whom we had a photograph was
Louise Malenfant. It had been taken
for another story and used before. A story of
this length is generally accompanied
by a photograph. But no specific memories
remain of the choice of the
photograph
DATE
ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKINGS UNDER ADVISEMENT
UNDERTAKING UNDER ADVISEMENT NO.
I
Produce any relevant correspondence
if there has been a refusal on the part of
the National Post to join or if it was
kicked out, or if in anyway, there is some
explanation, some material that
gives some explanation as to why the National
Post is not a member of the Council
ANSWER:
Our response is still under advisement.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING UNDER ADVISEMENT NO.2
Undertake to check your records and
in particular to check Ms. Laframboise's
personnel file to determine whether
there were performance reviews and provide
them to my friend
ANSWER:
Our response is still under
advisement.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING UNDER ADVISEMENT NO.
3
-7-
Check to see if there is some
reference to her performance in this article in her
performance review
ANSWER:
Our response is still under advisement.
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003
UNDERTAKING
UNDER ADVISEMENT NO. 4
Advise
through your solicitor when these reviews were done and who did them even if
they were informal oral reviews. And if it turns out that the reviews were oral
if you make inquiry of whoever did the review as to their best recollection of
what was in the reviews. Then provide that to my friend so he can determine
whether there’s anything relevant?
ANSWER:
Our response
is still under advisement
DATE ANSWERED: June 17, 2003