Racist Calgary mayoral candidate gets 18 months in jail for violating hate speech order from Ontario judge

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Kevin J. Johnston was sentenced to 18 months in prison for publicly calling Mohamad Fakih a “terrorist” and “baby killer” after being ordered to stop defaming the owner of Paramount Fine Foods in 2019.

The conviction comes after Johnston was charged earlier this year with contempt for continuing to make racist and defamatory statements against Fakih, a Toronto restaurateur and philanthropist, although an Ontario judge gave him ordered the arrest, saying he had displayed “hate speech at its worst, targeting people purely because of their religion.”

Judge Fred Myers said Monday that Johnston was not convicted for his political views but for six separate acts of contempt of court. Myers sentenced Johnston to three consecutive months per act, starting after he was legally allowed to return to Ontario, effective January 4, 2022.

In July, Johnston was convicted of two counts of contempt for instigating his supporters to defy public health measures aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. He was sentenced to 40 days in jail to serve over the weekend with an Alberta judge proposing a start date of October 22, four days after Calgary’s municipal election.

Johnston ‘undermines rule of law’, says judge

At the end of the first 15 months of his most recent sentence, Myers ordered Johnston to return to court so that a judge could consider varying the sentence based on possible contempt by then.

“It actively undermines the rule of law and to some extent at least seems to call for or support the overthrow of our democratic institutions,” Myers said.

“He says he was portrayed as a bad person by the liberal media. If Mr. Johnston’s portrait was painted, he provided the painting.”

As part of his decision, Myers said he questioned whether a prison sentence could portray Johnston as a “martyr of the cause” in the eyes of his supporters or play with Johnston’s claims that he would be reduced. to silence for his opinions.

He said he also took into account the impact of Johnston’s actions on vulnerable and racialized people who might not have the resources available to Fakih.

“If the court is powerless to stop the relentless, horrific and racist attacks on a man like Mr. Fakih, how can the helpless feel welcome or safe in Canada?” Myers asked during the online sentencing hearing.

“There is a need in this case for a phrase that prompts the audience to sit down and take note.”

The punishment comes just weeks after Johnston, a Calgary mayoral candidate, also pleaded guilty to a hate crime in connection with anti-Muslim posts online.

The conviction comes after Johnston was charged with contempt earlier this year for continuing to make racist and defamatory statements about Toronto restaurateur and philanthropist Mohamad Fakih, seen here in January 2020, despite an Ontario judge ordering him to arrest . (Michael Wilson / CBC) Fakih “relieved” by his grief

In a statement to CBC News, one of Fakih’s attorneys, Niklas Holmberg, called Myers’ decision “an important affirmation of the rule of law in this country.”

“It confirms that all Canadians can expect to be protected by the courts and that no one is above the law.

Fakih told CBC News he felt “relieved” by the grief.

“It gives me optimism that our justice system takes hate seriously in Canada. 18 months is a significant punishment that proves that the rule of law is important in Canada and is meant to protect us all,” he said. declared.

“My own children, like so many others, will wake up tomorrow knowing that they can expect justice to prevail in our country, regardless of their skin color or a different sounding name. So it’s a good day for Canada.

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