An elected official will have to pay $34,000 to a colleague she called an “aggressor”

Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury municipal councilor Gaétane G. Saint-Laurent will have to pay $34,000 in compensation to former municipal councilor Jean-Philip-Ruel as part of a defamation lawsuit.

The court concludes that Ms. Saint-Laurent made defamatory remarks about Councilor Ruel in the summer of 2021 by publicly condemning him through a speech strewn with falsehoods and exaggerations.

Gaétane Saint-Laurent had publicly claimed to have been the victim of assault from Jean-Philip Ruel, after he suddenly insulted her during a previous session.

Judge Nathalie Vaillant orders the former mayor of Stoneham to pay $17,000 in moral damages and $15,000 in punitive damages to Jean-Philip Ruel, who lost his seat in the last municipal elections.

Insulted in full council

At the time of the events, Gaétane Saint-Laurent had more than 15 years of experience in politics and sat on the mayor’s team, with a majority on the council.

For his part, Jean-Philip Ruel was elected as an independent advisor for the first time in 2017.

The court’s brief notes that although it is of good willil pushes unconsciously the habits of his colleagues. He does not always seem to understand his role as advisor; his multiple questions and requests towards municipal officials cause them a work overload.

On April 12, 2021, during a plenary session by videoconference, Mr. Ruel tried to speak, but the microphone on his computer was closed. Gaétane Saint-Laurent then gives him a tip: Would it be nice if it were like this all the time? A sentence that provokes laughter from some participants.

Stung, Jean-Philippe Ruel responds by calling the advisor a big cow c****.

The independent advisor will be sanctioned in the following days for these comments deemed unacceptable. He is prohibited from attending plenary sessions until further notice. By email, Councilor Ruel tried to apologize to Ms. Saint-Laurent and suggested that they meet in the presence of a mediator, without obtaining any follow-up from her.

Three months later, Gaétane Saint-Laurent invited journalists to a council meeting and spoke to denounce his attacker. She explains that she fears the possible return of Mr. Ruel in person and believes that she was the victim of a assault.

She says she speaks in order to break the taboo and the invitation to silence that we still make today to victims who are too often women or middle-aged people. The elected official alleges that her colleague brandished his fist at the screen while insulting her.

It was this speech that led Mr. Ruel to file a defamation suit.

Defamation and damages

Although she believes that the insult uttered against the ex-mayor is unacceptable and had to be sanctioned, Judge Vaillant supports the plaintiff’s arguments.

Ms. St-Laurent makes comments about Mr. Ruel which have the effect of causing him to lose the esteem and consideration of his fellow councilors, municipal employees and citizens.she writes.

The ordinary citizen who listens to Ms. St-Laurent’s speech against Mr. Ruel (…) is likely to understand that he is a violent man, disrespectful of women, treating them as less than nothing.

The judge underlines the damage suffered by Mr. Ruel and his wife after the denunciation. Citizens turn away from them, Mr. Ruel’s partner receives information by post intended for victims of domestic violence; Mr. Ruel’s desire to be involved in his community falls apart.

Due to her long experience in politics, Ms. Saint-Laurent had to grasp the importance of words and their impactbelieves the judge. His explanations to justify his public speaking are tenuous to say the least.

Jean-Philip-Ruel’s lawyer, Me Giscard Tamas, claimed $40,000 for damage to his client’s reputation and $20,000 in punitive damages.

- was unable to contact the parties in this lawsuit. It is currently unknown whether Ms. Saint-Laurent’s lawyer will appeal the case.