Fighting Blacklists in Canadian Arts
Free Speech & the 7th Anniversary of UBC Accountable
In November of 2016, 80+ Canadian writers signed an open letter called UBC Accountable which defended the novelist Steven Galloway’s right to due process. Seven years later what we now know is this: the signatories were right to call for due process and more importantly they had a right to do so.
Within days of publication some of the signatories withdrew their names from the letter following accusations that they were “gate keeping” and silencing victims. At the same time more writers signed on to the letter knowing that doing so would come with risk.
The risks were real. Those accusing the UBC Accountable signatories of “gate keeping” appointed themselves gate keepers and began exercising that power against signatories but also against others, and eventually against themselves. For having defended the principles of due process and the presumption of innocence, writers were blacklisted from literary festivals, universities, and publishing houses among other acts of illiberalism and censorship.
CanLit was not oppressive, instead it was fragile and ripe for the taking.
While we knew relatively little back in 2016, if the UBC Accountable Letter were written today it could be crafted with scathing precision towards exposing the depths of UBC’s corruption. In July of 2018 UBC’s Philip Steenkamp broke the terms of Galloway’s arbitration subjecting UBC to $60,000 in fines when he published a statement claiming: “The faculty and staff charged with management of this matter were professional and principled in all of their dealings and were guided throughout by the relevant policies and prescribed processes.”
The facts on the record now contradict Mr. Steenkamp’s claims of professionalism in no uncertain terms; they are as unequivocal as they are damning.
While those at UBC vilified Mr. Galloway under the stain of guilt by seeking out any possible story about him that could be twisted into a transgression, these same colleagues buried transgressions of their own that were in fact incriminating. This includes the shocking revelation that Keith Maillard and Annabel Lyon signed off on Galloway’s accuser’s thesis despite knowing that it was incomplete, thereby engaging in what likely amounts to academic fraud. Galloway’s accuser also extorted UBC into acting against Galloway with threats that our courts have now deemed “a tissue of lies.”
Steven Galloway was falsely accused and from the earliest moments UBC knew or should have known this. Galloway’s accuser lied to everyone at UBC and did so in a manner so sloppy that her inconsistent and unbelievable accusations fall apart with even the smallest amount of scrutiny. This is the embarrassment that UBC has been unable to face.
Instead of coming clean UBC stood by while CanLit tore itself apart. Blacklisting and “cancellations” have since become the new norm in CanLit. Today a writer with decades of work in our community can be wiped out and deemed persona non grata for writing a single literary review that some disagree with.
In 2018, I was invited as a past Poet Laureate of the city of Vancouver to read a poem at the Word Vancouver literary festival (formerly Word On The Street). Days before appearing organizers informed me that they had received numerous complaints against me and requested that I agree to drop out. I of course refused and made it clear I would not go quietly.
The board of directors for Word Vancouver were apparently split on whether or not I should be allowed to appear at their festival (where I am myself a former board member) until a fellow participant threatened to step down in solidarity if my invitation were rescinded. A day later I received an apology from the festival and appeared without incident.
Word Vancouver considered the matter closed; however, I still had no idea what had been said about me and by whom. The board refused to provide me with copies of the complaints and even refused to forward to the complainants offers to settle the matter outside of the courts. So, I began legal proceedings against the anonymous authors and in February of this year I obtained a court order for Word Vancouver to produce the letters. While I will be proceeding in a defamation action against two of the complainants, I was able to bring closure to the issue with a third.
Sierra Skye Gemma was a student at UBC who was most prominently featured in Marsha Lederman’s Globe and Mail article “Under A Cloud,” which details how Ms. Gemma came forward to support the allegations against Mr. Galloway and the havoc doing so has wreaked on her life and career as a writer.
Over the years of writing about this scandal, I interviewed numerous students who were in Ms. Gemma’s cohort and one of them described her as one of the bravest and most principled people in the program at the time. Ms. Gemma has, in my view, lived up to that description by settling this matter with an apology and a confidential financial settlement.
I would like to thank my legal counsel and legal counsel for Ms. Gemma for working together to bring closure on this for both of us. I also thank Ms. Gemma. None of this has been easy on anyone involved and I’m keenly aware that this debacle has caused Ms. Gemma harm.
The full text of Ms. Gemma’s apology is included below but I want to highlight the two paragraphs that I believe provide value to the literary community. As Ms. Gemma writes:
“You and others are entitled to criticize and challenge the positions and information disseminated by persons and institutions, including UBC, and doing so is not evidence of spite or ill will towards any person, movement or belief.
I also acknowledge that you, as a signatory to the UBC Accountable letter, had a right to call for due process and a public inquiry into the related scandal. The healing of the very public wounds in the literary community related to these events will only be possible with open and respectful dialogue.”
With closure on this issue, I move to litigation against Geist Magazine. In 2019 Geist received a complaint against me for having written the article “A Literary Inquisition: How Novelist Steven Galloway Was Smeared as a Rapist, Even as the Case Against Him Collapsed,” in the online journal Quillette. The complaint resulted in my removal from Geist’s editorial board. When I inquired about my removal, I was told that I was “obviously foundational” to the magazine but that I was removed as a matter of editorial housekeeping and that I shouldn’t take it personally.
Geist lied about the existence of the complaint that they acted on. After I filed an information request to determine if a complaint existed, Geist deleted roughly two decades of my writing from their website without my consent.
I have filed a notice of civil claim against Geist and their former publisher AnnMarie MacKinnon for breach of contract, breaches of the Personal Information Protection Act and intentional infliction of emotional suffering. During the process of obtaining orders for document disclosures I learned that Ms. MacKinnon’s sister-in-law Emily MacKinnon was acting against me at Geist without my knowledge while also representing Marcel Kosman, a defendant in Galloway v. A.B. who I swore evidence against and wrote about here and here.
Cran v. Geist is set to be heard in the Supreme Court of British Columbia for five days starting on February 24, 2025.
In my Notice of Claim I am seeking punitive damages, which are damages awarded to punish a defendant for wrongful conduct and to deter others from engaging in similar conduct. It is my hope that this case will help bring sanity, liberalism and free speech back to the Canadian Arts. As my notice of claim reads:
[19] Geist's conduct constitutes blacklisting. Ideological blacklists are an affront to freedom of expression, a direct attack on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a barrier to public participation on matters of public interest.
[20] The malicious actions of Geist have happened in tandem with other acts of blacklisting, including writers being blacklisted from universities and other publicly funded publishers.
[21] The defendants’ misconduct, as described above in all sections, was malicious, oppressive, and high-handed, and departed to a marked degree from ordinary standards of decent behaviour. The defendants’ actions are part of a pattern of willful disregard for freedom of speech in the Canadian arts. The defendants’ actions offend the moral standards of our country and warrant the condemnation of the Court such that an award of punitive damages should be made against Geist.
[22] It is in the public interest for this court to award punitive damages to send a message to all publicly funded arts organizations that ideological blacklists will not be tolerated in this country.
In 2016 when signatories signed the UBC Accountable Letter we thought we were solely defending the concept of due process. Quickly it became clear that we were also fighting a battle to protect free speech. Seven years later this remains a battle that must be won. On this seventh anniversary of UBC Accountable, I thank all the writers who signed the letter, including those that removed their names. In the coming days I will be publishing accounts of what many of them have endured since.
To the literary community at large I would like to stress that each of you has the right to express your views on matters of public importance without fear of reprisal from those that engage in ideological blacklisting. The best way to defend that right for yourself and for your fellow writers is to exercise it vigorously. I hope you do so.
The BC Court of Appeal decision in Galloway v. A.B. could come any day now. I will update you as soon as the decision is released.
An Apology from Sierra Skye Gemma
August 14, 2023
Brad Cran
Re: Brad Cran v. John Doe et al, B.C.S.C. Action No. S-230503, Vancouver Registry
I write to express regret and unequivocally retract and apologize for the false and defamatory allegations I made about you to the Board of Word Vancouver in September, 2018. My conduct was reckless and I accept that it has caused you harm and embarrassment.
As part of making amends, I wish to acknowledge that you have a history of social activism and have published on issues of gender equality, homelessness, and free speech. You and others are entitled to criticize and challenge the positions and information disseminated by persons and institutions, including UBC, and doing so is not evidence of spite or ill will towards any person, movement or belief.
I also acknowledge that you, as a signatory to the UBC Accountable letter, had a right to call for due process and a public inquiry into the related scandal. The healing of the very public wounds in the literary community related to these events will only be possible with open and respectful dialogue.
I wish you the best in your future endeavours as a poet, writer, and activist and I am sorry that my intemperate remarks and false allegations caused your reputation and standing in the literary community to suffer.
Sincerely,
Sierra Gemma
Brad, What you are doing is not only fundamental to the protection of free speech in Canada but is also extremely important to repairing the damage brought about by false allegations and reckless behaviour by some in Canada's literary community. Keep it up! I found your acceptance of Sierra Skye Gemma's apology particularly gracious.
Great article. Keep fighting the good fight.