Canadaland publisher apologizes in court to mother of WE Charity co-founders

The editor and publisher of Canadaland agreed to apologize to the mother of the WE Charity’s co-founders as part of a settlement in a defamation lawsuit.

But Jesse Brown says he’s standing by the rest of a podcast that was critical of the organization.

Brown told a Toronto courtroom on Tuesday that Canadaland “wholly retracts” the “unfounded” allegations it had made about Theresa Kielburger, 82, in a 2021 podcast about WE Charity.

In the first episode of the podcast series entitled The White Saviors, allegations were made that Theresa Kielburger had placed hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations to the WE Organization into the family’s personal bank account.

‘Wrong to have published’

Brown told the courtroom that Canadaland was “wrong to have published” that and Canadaland apologizes “unreservedly” to her for the harm caused by the publication of those allegations.

Brown also agreed to pay a total of $885,000 in damages and costs to Theresa Kielburger, mother of Marc and Craig Kielburger, who co-founded the WE Charity.

“I have spent my life trying to do good, for my family, for my community,” Theresa Kielburger said in an emailed statement to CBC News. “To have that called into question in such a callous manner was inexcusable. I am glad this chapter is over.”

Brown said the WE Charity scandal was never about Theresa Kielberger but about about her sons Mark and Craig and the operation of the charity itself. 

“My apology in court today was a sincere one. The story was never supposed to be about Theresa Kielburger,” he told CBC News in an interview.

“Our story stands, our story about Mark and Craig Kielburger, and WE Charity, we stand behind all of that.”

WE Charity became embroiled in a 2020 political scandal implicating then prime minister Justin Trudeau, who had failed to disclose that WE Charity had paid his family speaking fees before his government awarded the non-profit a major multi-million dollar contract.

The scandal prompted WE Charity to wind down its Canadian operations.

Canadaland’s 2021 five-part podcast series took a critical view of WE Charity and its charitable activities, describing the podcast as an “exclusive story of a charity that did well when it was supposed to be doing good.”

In a statement to CBC News, WE Charity said that Brown had “shown his true colours” and that he is “not a credible source on any reporting related to WE Charity.”

The defamation case against Canadaland  never went to trial, but a judge in 2024 rejected a bid to have it thrown out under SLAPP legislation, which is meant to protect people from lawsuits intended to silence critics or public debate.

WATCH | Federal government parts ways with WE Charity:

Federal government parts ways with WE charity on student grant plan

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with reporters after news emerged that the WE charity would no longer run Ottawa’s $900M program.

‘Substantial merit’ to defamation claim

At the time, Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan found there was reason to believe the defamation claim against Brown and Canadaland had “substantial merit.”

He ruled that the first episode left out crucial information, and noted that Brown and Canadaland did not reach out to Theresa Kielburger to give her the chance to refute the allegation.

According to a WE Charity news release, Canadaland’s full apology must be posted prominently and permanently on the Canadaland website and across every social media and podcast platform where the episode appears. 

An audio retraction must also be inserted into the original podcast episode, replacing existing versions on all platforms, the news release stated.

Meanwhile, CBC faces a defamation lawsuit by WE Charity over the fifth estate‘s November 2021 story about the organization. 

The CBC has said it stands by its story and will defend its journalism.