(Montreal) Jérémy Gabriel said he was “very disappointed” to have lost his case against Mike Ward, while the Supreme Court ruled Friday in favor of the comedian. “A little messed up” by nearly ten years of litigation in this case, however, he says he is ready to turn the page.
“After all these years, it’s difficult to lose, but it is taken with a lot of humility and dignity,” said Jérémy Gabriel Friday at a press conference. If “the fight ends sadly for [lui] “, He claims to be today” serene “in the face of the situation.
Surrounded by the president of the Human Rights Commission, Philippe-André Tessier, and one of the lawyers responsible for the case, Mr.e Stéphanie Fournier, Jérémy Gabriel specified that his goal had never been “to victimize himself”. Rather, he wanted to provoke collective reflection, an objective which he considers in part achieved. “Even if the door is closed for me, it is not definitively closed,” he believes.
Sentenced in 2016 by the Human Rights Tribunal to pay $ 35,000 to Jérémy Gabriel and after an appeal against him, comedian Mike Ward finally sees the tide turning in his favor before the highest court in the country. The Supreme Court of Canada does not believe that the number of its show Mike Ward exhibits himself, where he blithely mocked Jérémy Gabriel, a case of discrimination under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
Me Stéphanie Fournier, for her part, raised in meeting with the media that the “deep divide” among judges, both on the verdict and “on the very notion of dignity and what constitutes discrimination based on dignity”, has changed the rules of the game and create a new legal framework on these issues. “It was not for the Commission to make the trial of humor or to limit the freedom of expression of a humorist, but to defend the right to the dignity of a young adolescent”, specified the President Philippe-André Tessier, assuring that the work of the Commission would continue in this direction.
“A lot of time and energy”
Jérémy Gabriel spoke about the suicidal thoughts he had when the number came out and he was being bullied. He says he tried at least once to end his life. “The legal battle which I have just come out of lasted almost ten years, and took a lot of my time and my energy,” said Jérémy Gabriel, emotional. For him, the fact of having “denounced” Mike Ward remains “a source of pride”, because he took a stand against “discrimination in public discourse” and in defense of people with disabilities.
The Human Rights Commission reportedly tried unsuccessfully to approach Mike Ward for an amicable settlement before the dispute ended up in court. “I would have liked a frank and direct conversation with Mr. Mike Ward,” said Jérémy Gabriel. “We had two favorable judgments and we were ready to meet him so that there could be a discussion because what I saw a lot is that we were minimizing […] what was happening, what had been said, the impacts on me and my life, he added. I wanted to tell him that in the face, not that we end up in court. It could have been avoided. ”
Jérémy Gabriel, for whom the issue of discrimination was at the center of the dispute, does not currently plan to return to court with a defamation claim. The goal, he said, was never to end up in court, but to obtain “retribution” and recognition of “the wrongs committed” from the comedian. Recognition that he doesn’t believe he will ever get. “The real beauty about it is that I can now move on,” he added. It is also a kind of relief. ”