EXCLUSIVE: Nate Erskine-Smith vs. Quito Maggi
And the first PC locked in for the next election is...
ABOVE THE FOLD
SCOOP — GRITS GO FISTICUFFS IN COURT — NATE ERSKINE-SMITH, Liberal MP and runner-up in the provincial leadership race, is taking pollster QUITO MAGGI to court and accusing him of making defamatory statements on social media.
The claim: According to the filings at Small Claims Court, Erskine-Smith is arguing that Maggi made false statements about his political nomination controversy from a decade ago, which resurfaced during the 2023 Liberal leadership contest.
As this newsletter reported at the time, Erskine-Smith was accused of engaging in voter suppression tactics that targeted low-income South Asian communities during his first nomination contest in Beaches-East York in 2014. He denies those allegations.
Now, Erskine-Smith is suing Maggi for $35,000 in damages for tweeting about alleged voter intimidation along with a link to the story.
“Mr. Maggi falsely accused my nomination campaign of suppressing Bengali and other minority voters. Worse, he accused me specifically of canvassing those households and threatening people that their permanent residency status would be impacted if they tried to vote in the nomination,” reads his statement of claim. “The defamatory comments are untrue and have damaged my reputation.”
The defence: Maggi — who worked on the campaign for ANDREW NISKER, one of Erskine-Smith’s challengers for the 2014 nomination, and, more recently, on MPP ADIL SHAMJI’s short-lived leadership bid — isn’t backing off.
“My commentary was based on first hand knowledge of the nomination campaign…None of the comments posted were untrue, they were all documented and passed on to the nomination commissioner at the time,” Maggi insists in his statement of defence. “The plaintiff is emotional and confused.”
Maggi also argues Erskine-Smith shouldn’t be entitled to damages because he’s in line for a pretty pension as a longtime MP. “Since the Member of Parliament is not intending in seeking re-election, what damage is he claiming?”
To top it all off: Maggi recently filed an affidavit alleging Erskine-Smith engaged in witness intimidation when he emailed one of the people on Maggi’s witness list.
According to the latest court document, Maggi claims Erskine-Smith emailed the witness with the subject line “Defamation law suit question”, and name-checked CHAD WALSH, who’s co-campaign director for the Ontario Liberal Party.
“You should know that our team is working to help OLP where we can, many have integrated into the overall OLP team already, and that I’m in regular touch with Chad,” reads a copy of the alleged email.
It goes on to ask why the witness would speak on Maggi’s behalf in the defamation case. “The idea that I threatened people’s [permanent residency] status is to suggest that we engaged in criminal behaviour and it’s beyond the pale.”
Maggi says that amounts to intimidation. “The casual paragraph might appear to a layperson or someone not familiar with political campaigns as small talk, but it is quite deliberate and clearly a threat…It is an attempt to intimidate the witness with the possibility of political ramifications as a result of their testimony…This is how the email was received by the witness.”
Both Erskine-Smith and Maggi pointed me to the court documents when asked for further comment.
What’s next: The pair met informally over the summer and came close to settling, but ultimately, they couldn’t reach an agreement. There are currently no hearings scheduled.
HAPPENING TODAY
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 5:30 p.m.: Another big-ticket fundraiser very possibly featuring DOUG FORD, on his home turf in Etobicoke — but there’s no one listed on the public invite. See for yourself.
6:30 p.m.: Over in Brampton North, local PC rep and fundraising whiz GRAHAM McGREGOR and Energy Minister STEPHEN LECCE are schmoozing for $500 a pop. RSVP.
ON THE LAWN
12 p.m.: A caravan of Grassy Narrows First Nation members is travelling 1,900 kilometres to Toronto for a major demonstration on the South Lawn to demand justice for the ongoing mercury poisoning “nightmare.” They will bring a massive 1,600-square foot banner with them “that will be visible from the air,” play Indigenous drums, sing Anishinaabe songs and make speeches. The procession starts around Grange Park, behind the AGO, then heads south. Thousands are expected.
Their demands: “Compensate Grassy Narrows fairly for the ongoing mercury crisis…End industrial threats to Grassy Narrows (no mining, no logging, no nuclear waste)…Support Grassy Narrows in restoring their way of life and wellness from the damage that mercury has done.”
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT
1 p.m.: It’s another round of — you guessed it! — Estimates reviews. Transportation Minister PRABMEET SARKARIA will lead the hearing on his Ministry’s spending plan; bureaucrats will follow. Lineup.
2 p.m.: Solicitor General MICHAEL KERZNER and bureaucrats are front and centre for their own Estimates study. Dance card.
NOMINATION TRACKER
We called it! — AND THEY’RE OFF! — As my sources first told you in July, the PCs are officially gearing up for their candidate nominations process this fall, starting with Agriculture Minister ROB FLACK, who will be automatically acclaimed to run again in Elgin-Middlesex-London on October 8.
Flack is the only incumbent scheduled so far, so it seems less likely the PCs would nominate their sitting MPPs en masse again. A bunch of other MPPs have given the verbal nod that they’re running again, including STEPHEN LECCE, KINGA SURMA, PRABMEET SARKARIA, SAM OOSTERHOFF, DAISY WAI, DAWN GALLAGHER MURPHY, BILLY PANG and LOGAN KANAPATHI.
CLIPPINGS
— AT ONTARIO PLACE: “A male construction worker was killed Tuesday when he was reportedly crushed beneath heavy equipment at the Ontario Place redevelopment site on the Toronto waterfront, emergency services say.” CBC reports.
— FORD’S FAVOURITE POLICY: “After the Greenbelt scandal broke, Ontario Premier DOUG FORD had a new appointment added to his schedule: a meeting every two weeks to talk homebuilding with his top political advisors and ministers…The meetings represent a rare and recurring venture into granular policy details for Ford.” But alas! “Key parts of the law born from those meetings were still cut out at the last minute.” That includes provincewide fourplexes and more density around transit. Global’s got the story.
Allow me to toot my own horn: This newsletter first reported that as-of-right fourplexes were included in a draft version of the housing bill that was eventually kiboshed.
Speaking of housing policy: Development charges are up, like, way up.
— ACCESS TO JUSTICE (OR NOT): “A report commissioned by the Ministry of the Attorney General has found numerous accessibility issues at the $956-million provincial courthouse in downtown Toronto. The problems, detailed in a 76-page report obtained by the Star, echo those described by disability rights activist DAVID LEPOFSKY, in a YouTube video uploaded in August.” NDPers are painting it as a “P3 fail” (referring to public-private partnerships).
— FAITH LEADERS, TOO: “Faith leaders are calling on Premier DOUG FORD to reverse course on his decision to close 10 supervised consumption sites across the province. A number of religious organizations came to Queen’s Park on Tuesday and said they were hopeful they could reach Ford’s ‘humanity.’” Story from the Canadian Press.
— MICHAEL PARSA IN THE HOT SEAT: “The minister responsible for the child welfare network in Ontario that sees a child die every three days on average says those deaths are a ‘profound tragedy’ but stopped short of committing to when he will be able to reduce that number.” Global reports.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
PROMOTION IN PO — VICTORIA COLUSSI is now executive director of operations, tour and protocol to Premier DOUG FORD. Colussi and the Fords go way back — she’s been on tour duty (literally) since Ford took office in 2018, and before that, worked for then-mayor ROB FORD.
TRANSITION — JAY TULIPANO is moving over to Energy and Electrification with STEPHEN LECCE, as deputy director of policy. Tulipano was previously senior policy adviser to the Minister when they were at Education. More moves on Team Lecce.
MATTHEW McGOVERN is now policy adviser to Northern Development and Indigenous Affairs Minister GREG RICKFORD. McGovern previously did stints at Colleges and Universities and Red Tape Reduction.
STAFFING UP — JAMES POWERS has signed on to Treasury Board President CAROLINE MULRONEY’s office as a policy adviser.
ON THE BENCH — ANNIK SONIA WILLS, who hails from Legal Aid Ontario, has been appointed to the Court of Justice in Ottawa. Bio.
WANTED — Are heads about to roll? The government is on the hunt for a handful of appointees to the troubled Ontario Land Tribunal, which is reportedly under the Auditor General’s microscope and has been dealing with a big backlog of cases. Fun fact: Ex-CRTC head JEAN-PIERRE BLAIS currently sits on the tribunal.
LOBBY LIST
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations over the past 24 hours:
Mustapha Khamissa, Rubicon Strategy: Hydro One Networks Inc.
Ron Soreanu, Clear Strategy: DoorDash Inc.
Jonathan Scott, Jonathan Scott Consulting: EverCAN Housing Solutions
Scott Munnoch, Temple Scott Associates: Moose Hide Campaign Development Society
Paul Brown, Campbell Strategies: Nobleton Landowners Group
Andrew Pask, AP Public Affairs: Woodbine Entertainment Group
Jeff Rutledge, McMillan Vantage: AbbVie Corporation, Travelers Canada, Ontario Association of Cemetery and Funeral Professionals
Tausha Michaud, McMillan Vantage: MarshallZehr Group Inc, Quality Engineered Homes Ltd
Shawn Berezin, The CCS Group: United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising, Native Horizons Treatment Centre
David Angus, The Capital Hill Group: SAS Institute (Canada) Inc.
Chris Benedetti, Sussex Strategy Group: Calpine Corporation, Canadian Renewable Energy Association
Stephen Yardy, PAA Advisory: Impala Canada
In-house organizations: Ontario Home Builders’ Association — Loblaw Companies Ltd — Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation — Animal Justice — Lakehead University — Landlab Inc — Pharmascience — Parkland Fuel Corporation — Imperial Oil Limited.Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization.
🍽️ ON THE MENU: The basement cafeteria is slinging sweet and sour pork with rice and vegetables for lunch.
⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 1 day until the byelection in Bay of Quinte…2 days until the Liberal convention in London…13 days until the Plowing Match in Lindsay…33 days until the House reconvenes.