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Mayor Nenshi's statement of defence in the lawsuit filed by Cal Wenzel of Shane Homes.
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FORM 11[RULE 3.31]
CLERIC(01111{TOIDUR IFILED
JAN 1 if 2314JUDICIAL CENTREOF CALGARY
COURT FILE NUMBER 1301-13429
COURT COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH OF ALBERTA
JUDICIAL CENTRE CALGARY
PLAINTIFF CALVIN CHARLES WEN/1-L
DEFENDANT NAHEED KURBAN NENSHI
DOCUMENT STATEMENT OF DEFENCE
ADDRESS FOR SERVICE ANDCONTACT INFORMATION OFPARTY FILING THIS DOCUMENT
BENNETT JONES LLPBarristers and Solicitors4500, 855 - 2 Street SWCalgary, Alberta T2P 4K7
Attention: Munaf MohamedTelephone No.: 403-298-4456Fax No.: 403-265-7219Client File No.: 71762.1
Note: State below only facts and not evidence (Rule 13.6)
Statement of facts relied on:
1. The Defendant, Naheed Kurban Nenshi ("Mayor Nenshi"), denies each and every
allegation contained in the Statement of Claim except where expressly admitted herein,
and puts the Plaintiff to the strict proof thereof.
2. Mayor Nenshi admits paragraphs 1, 3, and 4 of the Statement of Claim.
The Parties
3. Mayor Nenshi is the current mayor of the City of Calgary, Alberta and, at all material
times, was the mayor of the City of Calgary. Mayor Nenshi was first elected as mayor in
October 2010, and was re-elected for an additional four-year term in October 2013.
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4. The Plaintiff, Calvin Charles Wenzel, also known as "Cal Wenzel" ("Wenzel"), is the
founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shane Homes Ltd. ("Shane Homes"), a large
family-owned, Calgary home-building company and part of the Shane Homes Group of
Companies. Wenzel's son, Shane Wenzel, is the President of Shane Homes.
Background to Wenzel's Claims
The Wenzel Secret Video
5. On or about April 22, 2013, Global News Calgary published an 18-minute secretly taped
video of Wenzel speaking at a November 2012 secret meeting of approximately 150
people, including many Calgary home-builders and developers (the "Wenzel Secret
Video"). The Wenzel Secret Video was aired by Global News Calgary with the
following description:
In an 18 minute secretly taped video of a meeting last November, CalWenzel, the founder of Shane Homes, presents developers and homebuilders with his plan to control city council by backing development-friendly candidates.
6. In particular, the Wenzel Secret Video recorded Wenzel making the following
statements:
Druh Farrell — In case anyone doesn't know — she doesn't like me and Idon't particularly like her. I had 13 trucks out last election deliveringsigns and assembling them and I got called by Druh in the electionsbecause they said I'd given $5,000 in cash so therefore my trucks that wereout delivering put me over the $5,000 limit so they were going to take usto court. So Druh and I don't see eye to eye obviously....
You know, the only nice part of this whole thing, is that Rollin Stanley,doesn't matter how weird of an idea he comes with - he has to get eightvotes at City Council. So as long as we have the eight votes swinging ourway and right now from the charts that you're seeing, it can go either way.When you've got a bunch of people there that can be swayed either way,like I know at one time where Pootmans was maybe guided as to youknow vote for us when it comes up, and then he forgot to ask anyquestions and forgot to vote the right way. So I guess it's the last personhe talked, sort of thing. So that's where you get the wafflers in there. Sounless we're kind of assured that we've got somebody who is businessmarketed (business orientated) we could be in for a real hard haul.
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Now keep in mind too: this upcoming election you are now voting for fouryear terms. So unless we get somebody in there that's really going to bemore on our side — than the dark side — we're talking another four yearsafter next October. ...
They are also aware that we are working on something. They don't knowfor sure, but they know that the industry is working on something againstthem. Dmitri asked me a question a little earlier on, "Can anyone beatNenshi?" and I said "No, likely not". I'm not sure what he was probing forbut I don't think he can and I have in my notes here 'I don't think he'sbeatable'. But you know, when I talked to Dave Bronconnier, Dave issitting there saying, "It doesn't matter if you've got the mayor on your sideor not - you need eight votes". He said, "As long as you've got eightvotes, you can control whatever happens". So for whatever, and however,we have to ensure that we end up with the eight votes.
Now, one of the things you know, when you're looking at getting rid of anincumbent you know, such as Druh Farrell or Pincott, the candidates thatyou know, Kevin Taylor and James Maxim, are suggesting that they needsomewhere in the area of $150,000 to $250,000 in their campaign funds.Now that could be maybe a little bit less, because Chris has promisedevery United truck to be made available and he's going to print the signson their computers, and so you know, maybe he can get by with $125,000.That's how much money these guys think they need. Now the other thingis, keep in mind you can only send them $5,000 per year, and that meansyou've 35 days to send in this year's tranche and then next year you cansend in an additional. So it's really quite important that you know, thatyou get on that....
I guess when it comes down to money you have to sit there and kind ofword it on the basis of not how much it's costing you, how much is itcosting you by not doing it? You know I've got a number of developershere suggest that it's maybe costing a couple million dollars a year becauseyou can't get your land on. Well if you follow the Rollin Stanley ruleyou're not going to get on forever so you might as well just write that offright now.
So how much does it really cost you? So if we have to sit here and say,you know, we have to fund maybe ten candidates here for $5,000 — that's$50,000 this year and $50,000 next year. Keeping in mind, in order tobring Preston on board, eleven of us put up $100,000 — so a million one.So it's not like we haven't put up our money, you know, and we're going tobe there to put it up again and yet we're also supporting the candidates. SoI'll leave you with that.
It's up to you guys, whether you want... you know, succeed going downthe road or not. I'm scared as hell and quite frankly, if they were to win,
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I'm not so sure I'll stay in business. Because I don't... I think it would beuntenable situation.
7. After Wenzel's statements, the Wenzel Secret Video also recorded the following
comments by the host of the meeting, who Mayor Nenshi believes to be Mr. Jay
Westman ("Westman"), chairman and chief executive officer of another Calgary
homebuilding corporation:
Well thank you, Cal. At this point, I'd like to make one other point: thefunding that we've done has brought on Dmitri as working for a groupcalled Municipal Governmental Project. Municipal Government Project.Dmitri has come on, full-time, on behalf of this group. Preston, theManning Centre has come on to help to support for this group and we haveanother fellow, which I find out in a political language, is anotherresearcher, starting in January....
8. The Wenzel Secret Video was headline news in Calgary, throughout Alberta, and across
Canada. For example, the Wenzel Secret Video was reproduced and discussed, in whole
and in part, under the following news headlines:
(a) Global News Calgary, "Home builder outlines plan to control city council" Apr.
22, 2013, online: Global News <http://globalnews.ca/video/502520/home-builder-
outlines-plan-to-control-city-council>;
(b) Doug Vaessen & Tamara Elliott, "Exclusive: Video obtained by Global News
revels Calgary developer's plan to control city council" Apr. 22, 2013, online:
Global News <http://globalnews.ca/news/502394/exclusive-video-obtained-by-
global-news-reveals-calgary-developers-plan-to-control-city-council/>;
(c) Robson Fletcher, "Aldermen troubled by video outlining homebuilders' alleged
plan to control Calgary council" Apr. 22, 2013, online: Metro News
<http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/644071/aldermen-troubled-by-video-
outlining-homebuilders-alleged-plan-to-control-calgary-council/>;
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(d) CTV Calgary, "Developer's intentions exposed in video" Apr. 23, 2013, online:
CTV News <http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/developer-s-intentions-exposed-in-video-
1.1249928>;
(e) Huffington Post, "Cal Wenzel Calgary Election Video: Developer Outlines
Million-Dollar Plan to Influence Ballot (Video)" Apr. 23, 2013, online:
Huffington Post <http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/23/cal-wenzel-calgary-
election-million-dollars_n_3141192.html>;
(f) Tamara Elliot, "Councillors react to Global News exclusive about developer's
plan to control them" Apr. 23, 2013, online: Global News
<http://globalnews.ca/news/504584/politicians-react-to-controversial-video-2/>;
(g)
and
Krista Munroe, "Wenzel buys Manning" Oct. 19, 2013, online: Medicine Hat
News <http://medicinehatnews.com/commentary/opinions/2013/10/guest-
column-wenzel-buys-manning-delivers-but-we-will-pay/>.
9. Mayor Nenshi became aware of the November 2012 secret meeting shortly after it was
held. Mayor Nenshi denies any involvement in the recording of the Wenzel Secret Video
and states that he has no knowledge of the identity of the individual who recorded the
Wenzel Secret Video.
10. After seeing the Wenzel Secret Video, Mayor Nenshi called for a formal investigation of
the Wenzel Secret Video and Wenzel's compliance with municipal election laws, based
on Wenzel's statements about the financial and in-kind support that he provided to Kevin
Taylor, who was one of the candidates for council in the 2010 Calgary municipal
election. Mayor Nenshi's comments in this respect were reported in several local and
national news media, including:
(a) Darren Krause, "Mayor Nenshi wants an investigation into municipal donations"
Apr. 23, 2013, online: Metro News
<http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/645699/mayor-nenshi-wants-an-investigation-
into-municipal-donations/>;
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(b) Canadian Press, "Cal Wenzel Calgary Election Video: Naheed Nenshi Wants
Investigation" Apr. 23, 2013, online: Huffington Post
<http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/23/cal-wenzel-calgary-developer-naheed-
nenshi_n_3143140.html>;
(c) CTV Calgary, "Shane Homes Developer speaks to media" Apr. 24, 2013, online:
CTV News <http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/shane-homes-developer-speaks-to-media-
1.1251916>; and
(d) Lisa Geddes, "Demand builds for investigation into developer campaign
contributions" Apr. 24, 2013, online: Global News
<http://globalnews.ca/news/508830/demand-builds-for-investigation-into-
developer-campaign-contributions/>.
11. Other concerned citizens and public interest groups joined Mayor Nenshi in his call for
an investigation based on the facts revealed in the Wenzel Secret Video. For example, in
a news report by Global News published on or about April 24, 2013, the President of the
Calgary and District Labour Council, Alexander Shevalier, was quoted as follows:
We need to look and to investigate and to have some transparency aroundthis, absolutely, says Alexander Shevalier, president of the Calgary andDistrict Labour Council. —We have a [campaign donation] limit and thelimit needs to be respected.
12. As a further example, on or about April 24, 2013, the Huffington Post published the
following comments and discussion raised by concerned Calgary citizens:
In the city at the economic centre of free-enterprise Alberta, calls bycitizens defending government and attacking business interests is analmost unheard of thing but is the kind of angered debate that's starting totake shape in Calgary. "Unimpressed that this group of homourless, yetwealthy, developers appear to believe that it's OK to subvert thedemocratic electoral process so they can continue to developunimaginative beige sprawl," said Ron Read on Facebook. "I am utterlydisgusted. I am hoping for the highest level of scrutiny in the upcomingelection," Joy Mamer added on Facebook. "People should boycott thebuilders who really should be forced to pay for infrastructure or schools intheir new developments as punishment."
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13. Mayor Nenshi also raised his concerns regarding the Wenzel Secret Video directly with
an official of the Alberta Department of Justice and Solicitor General ("Alberta Justice").
Alberta Justice informed Mayor Nenshi that they had seen the Wenzel Secret Video and
were in the process of determining what action, if any, Alberta Justice would take.
Alberta Justice advised Mayor Nenshi that it could not take any action with respect to
future potential violations of campaign finance contribution limitations for the 2013
Calgary municipal election. Sometime later, Alberta Justice advised Mayor Nenshi that
while there appeared to have been a violation of campaign finance law during the 2010
Calgary municipal election, based on Wenzel's statements in the Wenzel Secret Video,
Alberta Justice had no authority under the applicable legislation to investigate the
allegations and enforce the law.
14. On or about April 24, 2013, in reaction to the release of the Wenzel Secret Video,
Wenzel gave a press conference to various news media. At the outset, Wenzel was
introduced as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shane Homes. When asked
about how the Wenzel Secret Video had been recorded and released, Wenzel stated, in
part, as follows:
You know what, I don't know. It's one of the most cowardly things I'veever seen done. I mean, this was a private meeting and 100 people wereinvited. You know. I honestly can't say how or why anyone would [recordthe meeting].
Oh we will find out [who recorded the meeting]. We believe we're prettyclose.
15. Then, when asked what he would do if he found the person who recorded the Wenzel
Secret Video, Wenzel further replied:
[Smiles, Laughs]... I can't say.
16. On May 7, 2013, Westman, who Mayor Nenshi believes was the host of the November
2012 secret meeting, sent an email to all attendees of the meeting with the objective of
identifying the individual who recorded the Wenzel Secret Video. The email included a
seating plan where the attendee was to respond by indicating his or her seating location at
the meeting.
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17. In addition, on or about April 24, 2013, in an interview with the Calgary Sun, Wenzel
was further quoted as stating:
Then when I think about it, I built this company as a family business. Myson now runs this thing day to day. I hope one day my grandson runs it.So we will stay and fight and we won't run away. If Nenshi wants to fightthen he's going to get it. Our family is more resolved than ever to go afterhim.
(the "Wenzel Threat").
18. Wenzel's comments at the press conference and the Wenzel Threat were repeated and
discussed through various news media, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) Robson Fletcher, "Calgary home builder vows to find 'cowardly' person who
leaked video" Apr. 24, 2013, online: Metro News
<http://metronews.cainews/calgary/646407/calgary-home-builder-vows-to-find-
cowardly-person-who-leaked-video/>; and
(b) Rick Bell, Calgary Sun, Apr. 23, 2013: "Shane Homes CEO Cal Wenzel: "If
Nenshi wants to fight then he's going to get it"
http://www .calgarysun.com/2013/04/23/shane-homes-ceo-cal-wenzel-was -just-
exercising-democratic-right-not-trying-to-buy-council #yyc #yyccc #calsun"
19. On or about April 25, 2013, Mayor Nenshi was unexpectedly approached by Kevin
Taylor ("Taylor"), the individual candidate mentioned in the Wenzel Secret Video as
having received cash and in-kind donations from Wenzel in excess of the $5,000.00
maximum for his municipal election campaign. Taylor asked Mayor Nenshi for advice on
how to maintain his reputation and his campaign for the next upcoming election in the
wake of the Wenzel Secret Video. Mayor Nenshi suggested that Taylor distance himself
from Wenzel and consider returning all donations that he received from Wenzel. Mayor
Nenshi then .asked Taylor for further details regarding the donations he received from
Wenzel for the 2010 election. In response to Mayor Nenshi's specific inquiries, Taylor
informed Mayor Nenshi that he had:
(a) received a cash donation of $5,000.00 from Wenzel in the 2010 Calgary
municipal election;
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(b) accepted the use of several Shane Homes' trucks and labour by Shane Homes'
employees to assist his election campaign in 2010;
(c) assumed that Shane Homes' employees were working on their own time, but was
not certain of this; and
(d) did not know who owned the trucks, who held insurance on the trucks, or who
had paid for gas for the trucks at the material time.
20. Contrary to the allegations set out at paragraph 16 of the Statement of Claim, Taylor did
not make any of the representations described therein to Mayor Nenshi. Taylor did not
advise Mayor Nenshi that he had compensated Shane Homes for the use of its trucks, the
gas for the trucks, or its employees. Furthermore, and to the best of Mayor Nenshi's
knowledge prior to the filing of the Statement of Claim, Wenzel did not deny paying for
the trucks, gas or employees to assist in Taylor's election campaign.
The 2013 Election
2 1 . In October 2013, municipal elections were held in Calgary (the "2013 Election"). As the
incumbent mayoral candidate, Mayor Nenshi continued his duties as mayor of the City of
Calgary during this period, including speaking publically on matters of public debate and
City policy. In particular, at all material times, Mayor Nenshi continued to speak openly
on many public issues, including those related to the Wenzel Secret Video, such as:
(a) transparency and accountability in municipal elections laws;
(b) municipal elections financing;
(c) the economic policy of the City of Calgary; and
(d) residential development policies of the City of Calgary, including subsidies
granted to Calgary developers for building infrastructure in new communities (the
"Sprawl Subsidy").
22. For example, following the release of the Wenzel Secret Video and the Wenzel Threat
and leading to the 2013 Election, Mayor Nenshi continued to discuss these issues
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directly. On or about May 6, 2013, Mayor Nenshi wrote a column for the Calgary Herald
and posted it to his online blog on the official City of Calgary Website: "It's healthy to
talk about Calgary's growth" May 6, 2013, online: The City of Calgary, Mayor's Blog
<http://blog.calgarymayor.ca/2013/05/its-healthy-to-talk-about-calgarys.html>.
23. In this column, Mayor Nenshi stated, as he has done repeatedly, that while he welcomes
individual and group involvement in the electoral process, this involvement must respect
the confines of the law. In particular, Mayor Nenshi wrote as follows:
Everyone has the right (I would say: the responsibility) to get involved inthe political process, regardless of their concerns.
This involvement, though, needs to be transparent, ethical, and, above all,legal.
Our rules on campaign finance in Alberta are very weak, and I have beenfighting for many years for clean and fair elections. Certainly, the rulesneed to be strengthened and I will run the 2013 election as I did in 2010,as though tougher rules are in place.
But everyone needs to abide by the current rules, as weak as they are.
In the video, we have what appears to be an admission of at least oneviolation of campaign rules in the 2010 election. It seems that a companyprovided the maximum allowable donation in cash to a challenger in Ward7 and supplied him with company trucks.
Unless those drivers were personally paying the insurance, maintenanceand gas on those company trucks, this seems to be a donation-in-kindunder the law. This would mean, if true, that the company donated morethan the legal maximum.
24. Prior to the filing of the Statement of Claim, Wenzel did not respond to or dispute this
column.
25. As part of public debate on these issues, the public and news media also continued to
discuss the Wenzel Secret Video and the role of private special interest groups in funding
specific election campaigns. For example, the following news reports were published
following the release of the Wenzel Secret Video:
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(a) Robson Fletcher, "All but one Calgary alderman shared in $178K from builders
and developers" Apr. 23, 2013, online: Metro News
<http://metronew s.c a/new s/calgary/645585/all-but-one-calgary-alderman-shared-
in-178k-from-builders-and-developers/>;
(b) Huffington Post Alberta, "Cal Wenzel not sorry for remarks he made on video,
implying million-dollar plan to influence council" Apr. 24, 2013, online:
Huffington Post <http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/24/cal-wenzel-not-sorry-
buying-council_n_3150668.html>;
(c) Jordon Cooper, "Boldly reform campaign rules" Apr. 29, 2013, online: The Star
Phoenix
<http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=a6fc9233-
3a71-4399-abfe-cc907c46f9be>;
(d) Kelly Ernts, "Calgary campaign spending controversy reminds us of important
democratic values" Apr. 29, 2013, online: Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics
in Leadership
<http://www.chumirethicsfoundation.ca/main/page.php?page jd=411>;
(e) Gillian Steward, "Secretly recorded video reveals scheme to thwart Calgary's
popular mayor" June 4, 2013, online: The Toronto Star
<http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/06/04/secretly_recorded_vid
eo_reveals_scheme_to_thwart_calgarys_popular_mayor_steward.html>;
(f) Duane Bratt, "Why Alberta remains the wild west of campaign finances" Oct. 15,
2013, online: Global News <http://globalnews.ca/news/902532/why-alberta-
remains-the-wild-west-of-campaign-finances/>;
(g) Dermond Travis, "Municipal electoral reform should be a priority" Oct. 16, 2013,
online: Canada.com
<http://www.canada.cominews/Guest+Column+Municipal+electoral+reform+sho
uld+priority/9043690/story.html>;
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(h) CBC News, "Campaign finance rule changes urged as civic vote looms" Sept. 10,
2013, online: CBC <http://news.ca.msn.com/local/calgary/campaign-finance-rule-
changes-urged-as-civic-vote-looms>;
(i) Jason Markusoff, "Developer group denounces suburban "subsidy' claim" Oct. 1,
2013, online: Calgary Herald
<http://www.calgaryherald.com/touch/story.html?id=8984305>;
(j) Tamara Elliott, "Nenshi calls for developers to pay for infrastructure" Oct. 4,
2013, online: Global News <http://globalnews.ca/news/883752/nenshi-calls-for-
developers-to-pay-for-new-infrastructure/>; and
(k) Tamara Elliott and Doug Vaessen, "Group Protests Developer Influence at City
Hall" Oct. 8, 2013, online: Global News
<http://globalnews.ca/news/890419/group-protes ts -developer-influence- at-city-
hall/>.
26. In addition, on or about October 8, 2013, one day prior to the publication of the
"Defamatory Words" as alleged in the Statement of Claim, a public demonstration took
place outside of Calgary City Hall. As part of the demonstration, Calgary citizens,
supported by a public interest group, the Arusha Centre for Sustainability and Social
Justice, passed out fake bags of money to bring attention to the role of developers in the
election to promote urban sprawl in the City of Calgary. This demonstration received
considerable attention in the local media.
27. At all material times, as mayor, Mayor Nenshi enjoyed an approval rating greater than
80% (the highest mayoral approval rating of any major city mayor in Canada) and,
according to voter polls, was likely to receive a substantial majority victory in the 2013
Election. Wenzel's conduct, including his statements in the Wenzel Secret Video and the
Wenzel Threat, while engaging important public debate and discussion as pled herein,
was inconsequential to Mayor Nenshi's election campaign and victory. Mayor Nenshi
specifically denies the allegations set forth in paragraphs 19, 20 and 21 of the Statement
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of Claim and states that Wenzel and Shane Homes were never part of Mayor Nenshi's re-
election strategy.
Alleged Press Statements
28. The Press Statements, as defined and alleged at paragraphs 26 and 27 of the Statement of
Claim and at paragraphs 3 and 4 of Wenzel's Reply to Request for Particulars, further
illustrate the important ongoing public debate and discussion regarding the Wenzel Secret
Video and the Wenzel Threat leading up to the 2013 Election.
The Radio Interview
29. Mayor Nenshi admits that on October 9, 2013, he appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation radio show the "Eyeopener" in an interview with David Gray (the "Radio
Interview").
30. The Statement of Claim does not include the entirety of the Radio Interview, but rather,
has selectively cherry-picked a few passages and, therefore, the allegations pled are made
out of context. Mayor Nenshi pleads and relies on the entirety of his statements made in
the Radio Interview, which in particular, are set out as follows:
David Gray: It would be fair to say when it comes to political policy thatManning Centre and Naheed Nenshi have been ships sailing inopposite directions. The Manning Centre is associated with somehome builders and the controversial video where there was talk ofplotting the demise, at one point, of the Nenshi agenda. The Centrehas been accused of training a slate of candidates to run against theMayor. But now it appears the two sides have found some commonground this, after the Manning Centre released five economic policyrecommendations it thinks the City should implement. To talk aboutit we are joined by Naheed Nenshi. Good morning.
Mayor Nenshi: Good morning.
David Gray: Thanks for joining us. What did you think when you saw thatrecommendations coming from the Manning Centre?
Mayor Nenshi: Well the plot gets curiouser and curiouser, doesn't it? Um, this isinteresting. Because I was expecting this shoe to drop at some point,but I was frankly expecting this shoe to drop after the election.
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When we saw that video in the spring when the home builders talkedabout their slate and how they'd spent $1.1 million to get PrestonManning on board, to get their slate elected to oppose my agenda,the thing that I was always surprised by is that their agenda was acontinuation of corporate welfare. A continuation of the sprawlsubsidy. And I thought to myself, geez, the Manning Centre issupposed to be all free market, um, and what are they gonna sayabout this subsidiary which is I think the defin ... one of the definingpoints of this election. So yesterday when they said no, get rid of thesubsidy. These homebuilders should be paying the full freight oftheir infrastructure.
David Gray: Mm-mmm.
Mayor Nenshi: Well, they're right. Um, I suspect they got some angry phone callsfrom their donors, uh, yesterday. And, really, there was always aconflict between what the donors wanted and what the organizationpurported to believe in. So it's interesting to see how that's beenresolved.
David Gray: So we've got our list of five economic policy recommendations. Iwon't go through them all here, but one that interests me and I knowit interested you, is when they talked about eliminating the 48hundred dollar subsidy for home builders. Now that's ... like ... isthey agree with your number? Are they agreeing with what you'resuggesting earlier?
Mayor Nenshi: I mean I know ... no one has ever disagreed with that number.(Indiscernible)
David Gray: Well people have disagreed. They're just ... it's just whether or notthey've pulled the numbers up to back up why they're disagreeing.
Mayor Nenshi: Yeah, that's right. And what I'm trying to say is no one hasdisagreed with the number. The number is the number. It's part of anegotiated settlement ...
David Gray: Right.
Mayor Nenshi: ... between the City and the development industry. The issue ofdisagreement is whether or not there should be a subsidy and, um,and as a matter of fact, yeah, so the Manning Centre is agreeing withmy point of view that there should not be a subsidy. Now they havesome other recommendations that I don't particularly think are eitherpractical or very smart, but on the philosophy that we ought to reallycreate a free market in housing and we ought to stop putting ourthumb on the scale and, um, favouring one form of housing over
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another, we seem to agree on this matter.
David Gray: Which recommendation do you think wasn't very smart?
Mayor Nenshi: Uh, they go on to talk about differential taxes in newneighbourhoods. I happen to think that's a bit of a smoke screen.The development industry has asked for that for some time so thatthey can artificially lower the price of the home upfront and peoplewill pay for all that infrastructure in their taxes over some years.And I don't think that's quite right. I prefer a free market where wehave full cost pricing upfront. The net impact on the home owner isthe same whether it goes into your mortgage or into your propertytaxes ...
David Gray: Mm-mime.
Mayor Nenshi: ... and you pay it over 10 or 20 years it's the same. But I think thatit's worthwhile for the homeowner to see the full cost when they'remaking the decision to buy the house or not.
David Gray: The report also recommends reducing the use of planning policies toregulate density.
Mayor Nenshi: Yeah, that's just dumb.
David Gray: Yeah.
Mayor Nenshi: (Laughs)
David Gray: (Laughs) You want to explain that?
Mayor Nenshi: Well, uh, I'll give you one word: Houston.
David Gray: Mm-mmm.
Mayor Nenshi: Is that what we want? No. Um, they suggested that financialincentives will be enough to actually move the market, but whatwe've learned is the one area in which the free market doesn't workin housing is in the area of overall neighbourhood planning. Um,because you can't buy a neighbourhood, you can only buy a house.So the ... there is a market failure there. And so that's where youneed regulation to look at basically minimum densities, amount ofrecreational space, things like that. That's why we do masterplanning at the city level. And I ... I suggest we have to continuethat. We've seen over and over and over again that particularlywhen you have an all [indiscernable] market where you don't have alot of competition, people will just build the same thing over andover again. It's a simple business cycle - you don't get any
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innovation, and the regulation has to help with that.
David Gray: Let's look at another policy. What about adopting different pricesfor transit based on distance travel? I'm sure there are many peopleright now who may be heading towards their C-Train in differentparts of the city or their bus who might be wondering what that's allabout.
Mayor Nenshi: So that's an interesting one. And certainly we've seen mixed resultsin different communities on whether or not you should pay more fortransit depending on the distance travelled. One of the challengeswith that is that our system hasn't really been built for it. We don'thave turnstiles, we have an ardor system on the C-Train. Zone basedfares really only work where you have to tap your card on the way inand on the way out ...
David Gray: Mm-mmm.
Mayor Nenshi: ... so that you can be debited correctly. Um, so I mean, it'scertainly worth looking at, but I see two concerns. Concern numberone is just that — the technical issue, the tens of millions of dollars itwould cost to retro fit our system and what exactly we would dowith downtown stations. I mean there is some other issues as if youhave to tap on the way out it causes an enormous amount of queuingas you're leaving the station. People miss their busses. So we haveto try and figure out if that makes any sense at all. Um, the secondissue is just this which is, you don't want to discourage people fromtaking transit.
David Gray: Mm-mmm.
Mayor Nenshi: Uh, and if you have much higher fares for precisely the peoplewhose vehicles are clogging the roads, who have very longcommutes, um, then it may well lead to more people driving. So,you know, we have to try and think what the impact on humanbehavior is here.
David Gray: And yet that's common in other cities. Um ...
Mayor Nenshi: Mixed, mixed, mixed. So in a place like Washington, DC, there's avery complex zone fare ...
David Gray: Mm-mmm.
Mayor Nenshi: ... system. You need a computer to figure it out. In a place likeNew York City, um, with a very extensive transit network, it's onefare to go anywhere. So different communities have tried different
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things.
David Gray: Look. A national newspaper has just published a story suggestingyou invented opposition between you and the Manning Centre soyou would have an opponent in this election race.
Mayor Nenshi: Yeah. That's interesting. So apparently I secretly called a meetingof a hundred and fifty people and I gave a script to Cal Wenzel totalk about how they were gonna spend more money than everysingle candidate combined in the last election. Apparently, I'm theone who funded the secret third party's super packs in Calgary tooppose my own agenda. Fascinating piece of analysis.
David Gray: Well I think their sense was that you needed some gristle to fightagainst in this election race.
Mayor Nenshi: Let's not be ridiculous here. I ... and this is one thing that I don'tunderstand which is why everyone is being so polite. We had ascene right outside the ... out of the movie Godfathers. We had aguy admitting that he broke the law in 2010 in favour of onecandidate Ward 7's Kevin Taylor running again. Like we realizedthe law cannot actually be enforced. It has no enforcement ability.We had a guy telling people in a room how to break the law in thiselection and going through every single race, saying this is thecouncilor that will oppose Nenshi. Make sure you vote for the guywho opposes Nenshi. Make sure you give them money. And Iinvented this? Let's not be ridiculous.
David Gray: Sorry, did you just call Cal Wenzel the Godfather?
Mayor Nenshi: Maybe.
David Gray: One last point — a little later on the show we will be having adiscussion with our unconventional panel about a big blue hoopthat's been hung on a bridge
Mayor Nenshi: Yeah.
David Gray: The latest piece of public art. What are your ... what's your take onthat large blue hoop?
Mayor Nenshi: I don't' like it. Um, I don't think it's a particularly interesting orinsightful piece of art. Um, but the thing is I'm not a curator, and Idon't' think that we should live in a world where politicians curatethe art or we would get giant Soviet realist portraits of meeverywhere. It may not be a bad thing, but, um, but I don't think so.So that piece of art was chosen by a citizen panel. I happen to not
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like it. Uh, I also happen to think that we need a slightly moreflexible public art policy where money can be pooled for moremeaningful pieces of work, uh, for work that people can enjoyinstead of whipping by it high speeds. We've already made thechanges to that policy. Um, I've done that in conjunction with anumber of my colleagues on council and I think well do a muchbetter job going forward, for example, with the Centre Street bridgelions, at the West LRT. This particular one predates me andpredates the changes to the policy. Um, and like I say, I don't like it.But I think that our overall policy is a pretty good one and thetweaks we've made I think well make sure that people get lots ofpublic art to enjoy for generations to come.
David Gray: This discussion will continue in just over an hour from now with ourunconventional panel. Thank you so much for joining us thismorning. I appreciate it.
Mayor Nenshi: Thank you, David. Have a great day.
David Gray: That, of course, is Naheed Nenshi, the current Mayor and the manseeking reelection as Calgary's mayor.
Mayor Nenshi and the New Growth Management Framework
31. Contrary to Wenzel's opinion set out in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Statement of Claim,
Mayor Nenshi has consistently advocated for a balanced approach to municipal
development, including suburban development, throughout his career and his tenure as
mayor of the City of Calgary. Mayor Nenshi expressly denies that he has opposed or
opposes suburban residential development in the City of Calgary by any means.
32. Since February 2011 and to date, Mayor Nenshi and City Council have worked with
stakeholders to develop new municipal policies for residential development and growth
management for the City of Calgary, as part of Calgary's Municipal Development Plan
("MDP"). As part of proposed changes, City Council will now prioritize proposed
growth areas for approval of development applications based on specific criteria to best
implement and achieve MDP objectives (the "Growth Management Framework"),
including:
(a) Access to transit;
WSLega1\071762\00001\9865567v3
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(b) Capacity of existing infrastructure;
(c) City-funded costs;
(d) Readiness to proceed;
(e) Community services in place;
(f) Land supply;
(g) Employment Opportunities;
(h) Innovation; and
(i) Contiguous growth.
33. Wenzel, either personally or through Shane Homes or the Shane Homes Group of
Companies, has ongoing plans to develop certain properties in the City of Calgary and
surrounding areas as residential developments, including one property located in the
Belvedere community in East Calgary (the "Proposed Belvedere Development"). Based
on the proposed Growth Management Framework underlying the new MDP, Wenzel's
Proposed Belvedere Development would be categorized as low priority for future
development approval.
34. Mayor Nenshi has no knowledge of Wenzel's personal or business motivations with
respect to the Wenzel Secret Video or Wenzel Threat. However, Wenzel's statements in
the Wenzel Secret Video, Wenzel Threat, and other contemporaneous publications reveal
that he and his businesses have sought to oppose the more balanced approach envisioned
by the Growth Management Framework, in order to the promote their personal interests
and specific development projects.
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Commencement of this Action
35. Since the release of the Wenzel Secret Video, Mayor Nenshi has publically, on numerous
occasions, invited Wenzel to meet in person to discuss his concerns about development in
Calgary. Wenzel has failed, neglected or refused to meet with Mayor Nenshi.
36. In specific response to paragraph 38 of the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi states that
he refused Wenzel's demand for an "apology to Mr. Wenzel's satisfaction" (emphasis in
original).
37. On or about November 15, 2013, Wenzel issued a media statement announcing this
Action and his allegations against Mayor Nenshi (the "Media Statement"). The Media
Statement was issued on Shane Homes' letterhead and posted on the Shane Homes
corporate website. In the Media Statement, Wenzel states that monetary compensation is
not his motivation in bringing this Action.
38. As a direct result of the commencement of this Action and the release of Wenzel's Media
Statement, the allegedly defamatory words contained in the Radio Interview and alleged
Press Statements have been repeated and republished in various news media in Calgary
and throughout Alberta, including, but not limited to, the following publications:
(a) CTV Calgary, "Home builder files multimillion dollar defamation lawsuit against
Nenshi" Nov. 15, 2013, online: CTV News <http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/home-
builder-files-multimillion-dollar-defamation-lawsuit-against-nenshi-1.1545504>;
(b) CBC News Calgary, "Naheed Nenshi to be sued by home builder over 'godfather'
comments" Nov. 15, 2013, online: CBC
<http://www .cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/naheed-nenshi-to-be-sued-by-home-
builder-over-godfather-comments-1.2428488>;
(c) Kevin Martin, "Homebuilder Cal Wenzel files lawsuit defamation against Mayor
Naheed Nenshi" Nov. 15, 2013, online: Calgary Sun
<http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/11/15/homebuilder-cal-wenzel-files-law suit-
defamation-against-mayor-naheed-nenshi>;
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(d) Jason Markusoff, "The Wenzel-Nenshi defamation lawsuit: what they both say"
Nov. 18, 2013, online: Calgary Herald
<http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2013/11/18/the-wenzel-nenshi-defamation-
law suit-what-they-both-s ay/>;
(e) CTV Calgary News, "Developer files $6 million defamation lawsuit against
Mayor Nenshi" Nov. 20, 2013, online: Calgary Herald
<http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Developer+files+million+defamation-Flaws
uit+against+Mayor+Nenshi/9172067/story.html>;
(f) Mike Morrison, "Wenzel's $6-million lawsuit looks like a bully move to me" Nov
21, 2013, online: Metro News <http://metronews.ca/voices/in-defence-
of/862748/wenzels-6-million-lawsuit-looks-like-a-bully-move-to-me/>;
(g) Colby Cosh, "Naheed Nenshi vs. Six Million Dollar Man" Nov. 23, 2013, online•
Maclean's <http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/11/23/naheed-nenshi-vs-the-six-
million-dollar-man/>; and
(h) Don Weisbeck, "Around Alberta: Different shades of democracy" Dec. 2, 2013,
online: Medicine Hat News
<http://medicinehatnews.com/commentary/opinions/2013/12/national-affairs-
different-shades-of-democracy/>.
39. Despite the commencement of this Action, Mayor Nenshi has continued to extend an
invitation to Wenzel to meet to discuss and address his concerns. To date, Wenzel has
ignored this invitation and has refused to meet with Mayor Nenshi.
Any matters that defeat the claim of the plaintiff:
Shane Homes and Wenzel are alter egos
40. In response to the whole of the Statement of Claim, at all material times, Wenzel has
been the directing and guiding mind of Shane Homes and has operated Shane Homes as
his agent and/or alter ego, without distinction between his personal acts and the corporate
acts of Shane Homes.
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Wenzel has no claim for injurious falsehood
41. In response to paragraphs 26 through 32 of the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi
expressly denies that any of the Press Statements, as alleged and defined in the Statement
of Claim and Wenzel's Reply to Request for Particulars, constitute injurious falsehood, as
alleged or at all, and puts Wenzel to the strict proof thereof.
42. In response to paragraph 27 of the Statement of Claim and paragraphs 3 and 4 of
Wenzel's Reply to Request for Particulars, Mayor Nenshi states that Wenzel has failed to
plead the entirety of any words claimed to have been published by Mayor Nenshi which
constitute injurious falsehood, the time(s), place(s), and context(s) of the publication of
any such words, and the identity of any person(s) to whom such words are alleged to
have been published. The Statement of Claim thus fails to disclose a proper cause of
action for injurious falsehood, and should be struck.
43. In further response to paragraph 27 of the Statement of Claim and paragraphs 3 and 4 of
Wenzel's Reply to Request for Particulars, Mayor Nenshi states that the particulars of
statements alleged to have been made by Mayor Nenshi are, largely, statements made
solely by reporters and news media entities, who have not been named in this litigation.
Mayor Nenshi denies any liability as alleged for statements published about Wenzel by
other persons.
44. In further response to paragraphs 26 through 32 of the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi
states that Wenzel has failed to plead the manner in which the alleged Press Statements
are claimed to have impacted Wenzel's business or goods and any resulting special
damages suffered by Wenzel. The Statement of Claim thus fails to disclose a proper
cause of action for injurious falsehood, and should be struck.
45. Mayor Nenshi denies that any of the alleged Press Statements impacted Wenzel's
business or goods, or caused any special damage to Wenzel. Contrary to the bare
allegations made at paragraphs 34 and 35 of the Statement of Claim, Wenzel, Shane
Homes, the Shane Homes Group of Companies, and the Calgary home-building industry
WSLega1\071762\00001\9865567v3
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continued to enjoy a healthy market for single-family homes during the entire period at
issue and to date. In particular:
(a) building permits issued by the City of Calgary for single-family residential units
in developing areas of the City have been increasing since 2011, as set forth in the
following table:
2011 2012 2013 (as atDecember 15)
Single-Family 3,834 4,253 4,445Units
and
(b) there has been no material change in the number of building permits issued to
Shane Homes for single-family residential units since 2011, as set forth in the
following table:
Year # of Building Permitsissued to Shane Homesfor single-familyresidential units
Market Share in homebuilding industry
2011 316 6.5%
2012 288 5.2%
2013 365 6.2%
46. Mayor Nenshi further denies that he made any of the alleged Press Statements
negligently, recklessly or with any malice, improper purpose, or calculated intention to
damage Wenzel.
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Mayor Nenshi did not defame Wenzel
47. Mayor Nenshi expressly denies that he defamed Wenzel as alleged or at all, and puts
Wenzel to the strict proof thereof.
48. In response to paragraphs 22 through 24 of the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi
expressly denies that the Radio Interview is capable of bearing the defamatory meanings
ascribed to it by Wenzel. In particular, Mayor Nenshi states that the "Defamatory
Words", as defined in the Statement of Claim, are not capable of lowering the esteem of
Wenzel in the minds of ordinary, reasonable and fair-minded recipients in their plain and
ordinary meaning or by popular or legal innuendo, in the context of the Radio Interview
as a whole, the Wenzel Secret Video, and the Wenzel Threat.
49. In further response to paragraphs 23 and 24 of the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi
denies that the Radio Interview is defamatory of Wenzel in fact. In particular, Mayor
Nenshi states that Wenzel is commonly known and referred to as "the godfather" in
public. For example, on or about April 14, 2012, more than a year prior to the Radio
Interview, and any allegedly defamatory statement by Mayor Nenshi, Wenzel's son,
Shane Wenzel published the following statement on the social media website "Twitter"
with a picture of Wenzel (the "Shane Wenzel Statement"):
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III Shane Wenzel©79reasons
W Follow
Good looking guy presenting a#SAMAwards Cal Wenzel (The godfather)@SAMAwards @[email protected]/TtpiCKz7
Reply t.,1 Retweet * Favorite 40460 More
6:53 PM - 14 Apr 12 09 from Division No. 6, Alberta
'r,777-7
Flag media MIN
50. Since April 14, 2012 and to date, the Shane Wenzel Statement has been available to the
public on Shane Wenzel's public Twitter profile webpage, which is connected to the
Twitter profile webpage and corporate website for Shane Homes. To Mayor Nenshi's
knowledge, Wenzel has not complained nor sought an apology from his son for referring
to Wenzel as "the godfather".
WSLegal\ 071762 \00001 \9865567v3
-26-
51. In another example, on or about July 25, 2013, a journalist, Lisa "Longball" Vlooswyk,
published the following statement on Twitter, with a picture herself posing with Wenzel
(the "Lisa Longball Statement"):
2 Lisa Longballce'i:LisaLongball
Riding in style with Cal Wenzel, the"Godfather" of the Horne Building industryin a custom Shelby Cobra! #sweetridepic.twitter.com/fIklbZlaPb4. Reply tni. Retweet * Favorite Imo More
4RETWEET FAVORITES 2 11111111111 -17
W Follow
4:51 PM - 25 Jul 13 Flag media
52. Since July 25, 2013 and to date, the Lisa Longball Statement has been available to the
public on Lisa Longball's public Twitter profile webpage. To Mayor Nenshi's knowledge,
WSLega1\071762 \00001 \9865567v3
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Wenzel has not complained nor sought an apology from Ms. Longball for referring to
Wenzel as "the godfather".
53. Furthermore, and in the alternative, reference to the "godfather" in the Radio Interview is
not defamatory in fact by popular innuendo. Referring to the well-known film and
fictional story dramatizing a wealthy and ruthless American family, the ordinary,
reasonable and fair-minded recipient would not infer from Mayor Nenshi's comment that
Wenzel was actually involved as the "head of a mafia-like organization" as alleged at
paragraph 24 of the Statement of Claim. Rather, the indirect comparison drawn by Mayor
Nenshi between Wenzel and the "godfather" would reasonably have been understood as an
euphemism to describe a wealthy and powerful man who gathered a secret meeting of 150
friends to fund political campaigns and influence municipal politics, and whose "family"
is "more resolved than ever to go after" its opponents.
54. In response to paragraphs 26 through 32 of the Statement of Claim and paragraphs 3 and
4 of Wenzel's Reply to Request for Particulars, and the Press Statements and "General
Defamation" as defined therein, Wenzel has failed to plead the entirety of any words
published by Mayor Nenshi which are claimed to be defamatory, the time(s), place(s),
and context(s) of the publication of any such words, and the identify of any person(s) to
whom such words are alleged to have been published. The Statement of Claim thus fails
to disclose a proper cause of action in relation to these allegedly defamatory statements,
and should be struck.
55. Mayor Nenshi states that the particulars of the alleged Press Statements are, largely,
statements made solely by reporters and news media entities, who have not been named
in this litigation. Mayor Nenshi denies any liability as alleged for statements published
about Wenzel by other persons.
56. In further response to paragraphs 26 through 32 of the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi
expressly denies that any of the Press Statements is capable of bearing the defamatory
meanings ascribed to it by Wenzel, and further denies that any of the Press Statements is
defamatory of Wenzel in fact.
WSLega1\071762\00001\9865567v3
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57. In response to paragraph 35 of the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi denies that he
intended any "repetition, republication, rebroadcasts, interpretations and commentaries"
of the Radio Interview and/or Press Statements by newspaper, radio or television
broadcast, or the internet in Canada or elsewhere, and holds Wenzel to the strict proof
thereof. Mayor Nenshi states that Wenzel has failed to plead any particulars with respect
to such alleged "repetition, republication, rebroadcasts, interpretations and
commentaries". The Statement of Claim thus fails to disclose a proper cause of action in
defamation or injurious falsehood in relation thereto, and should be struck.
Lesser Defamatory Meaning
58. In the alternative, to the extent that the Radio Interview and/or Press Statements bear any
defamatory meaning and defamed Wenzel in fact, which is expressly denied, the Radio
Interview and Press Statements bear only the following meanings in their plain and
ordinary sense and by popular innuendo, when viewed in context:
(a) Wenzel organized and took part in an exclusive and secret meeting of home-
builders and developers, which was secretly recorded and published in April
2013;
(b) During the secret meeting, Wenzel spoke openly about conduct, including
contributions to candidates in the 2010 Calgary municipal election and his
recommended strategy for funding candidates in the 2013 Election, which
involved cash and in-kind contributions to candidates in excess of the maximum
$5,000.00 donation limit;
(c) During the secret meeting, Wenzel openly discussed his objective to control the
decisions of City Council by ensuring that "at least eight votes" would be used to
support his interests; and
(d) Wenzel, like the "godfather", is a wealthy and powerful man, who is kind and
benevolent to those who give respect and agree with his views, but, ruthless when
something stands in his way.
VVSLegaR071762\00001\9865567v3
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The Impugned Statements are True
59. To the extent that the Radio Interview and/or Press Statements bear the defamatory
meanings set out in the Statement of Claim or as pled herein at paragraph 58, which is
expressly denied, Mayor Nenshi states that those meanings, in so far as they consist of
allegations of fact, conveyed an accurate impression and are substantially true and
justifiable.
60. In particular, in the Wenzel Secret Video, Wenzel was independently recorded making
the following public admissions of fact:
(a) Wenzel, either personally or through Shane Homes, donated the maximum
allowable cash amount of $5,000.00 and, in addition, made in-kind donations
through the use of his staff and corporate vehicles to provide labour and valuable
services to promote favourable election candidates in the 2010 Calgary municipal
election;
(b) Wenzel, either personally or through Shane Homes, planned to donate the
maximum allowable cash amount of $5,000.00 and in addition, to make in-kind
donations through the use of his staff and corporate vehicles to provide labour,
valuable services, and other financial or business resources to assist favourable
election candidates and save campaign costs in the 2013 Election;
(c) In order to protect his interests in decisions made by the City of Calgary, Wenzel
and his small private interest group needed to control at least eight votes on City
Council: "As long as you've got eight votes, you can control whatever happens.
So for whatever, and however, we have to ensure that we end up with the eight
votes";
(d) Wenzel was aware and was ingratiatory of other individuals who planned to
donate the maximum allowable cash amount of $5,000.00 and in addition, make
in-kind donations by contributing other valuable financial and business resources
VVSLegaR071762\00001\9865567v3
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(e)
(f)
(g)
to assist favourable election candidates and save campaign costs in the 2013
Election;
Wenzel encouraged other individuals to donate the maximum allowable cash
amount of $5,000.00 and in addition, make in-kind donations by contributing
other valuable financial and business resources to assist favourable election
candidates and save campaign costs in the 2013 Election;
Wenzel suggested that other individuals would be making in-kind donations in
excess of the $5,000.00 limit to certain candidates in the 2013 Election. In
particular, Wenzel stated:
...the candidates that you know, Kevin Taylor and James Maxim,are suggesting that they need somewhere in the area of $150,000 to$250,000 in their campaign funds. Now that could be maybe alittle bit less, because Chris [Kolozetti] has promised every Unitedtruck to be made available and he's going to print the signs on theircomputers, and so you know, maybe he can get by with $125,000.
This statement can only be understood to mean that "Chris [Kolozetti]" and
"United" had offered in-kind services valued between $25,000 and $125,000 to
each campaign;
In fact, Mr. Kolozetti further made clear that his company's [United Developers]
$100,000.00 donation to the Manning Centre was also intended to support only
certain candidates. This could be construed as a donation-in-kind. Indeed, the
Calgary Herald reported on April 25, 2013:
"United's executive vice-president agreed with Wenzel's statedhope of ensuring eight business-supportive aldermen get elected.However, the centre he's donated to appears to be down totraining three candidates who tried and lost in 2010, after twoother candidates cut ties.
'Yeah, so what. It's better than what we have now', Kolozettisaid, when told his six-digit contribution might only besupporting three candidates."
Jason Markusoff, "Builder under fire from city, industry", April 25, 2013,Calgary Herald.
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(h) Wenzel, either personally or through Shane Homes, along with 10 other like-
minded persons, donated an additional $100,000.00 each, over and above their
$5,000.00 cash donation and further in-kind donations, to the Manning Centre to
promote training for favourable election candidates in the 2013 Election, which
would, in turn, be provided at no cost to those candidates, and to hire individuals
for the Manning Centre to promote the interests of this private group; and
(i) Wenzel was aware of and encouraged other individuals to make donations to the
Manning Centre over and above their $5,000.00 cash donation and further in-kind
donations to promote training for favourable election candidates in the 2013
Election, and planned to make similar donations again in the future.
61. On the basis of these public admissions of Wenzel's conduct, either personally or through
Shane Homes, Wenzel's actions would constitute a prima facie violation of the spirit and
letter of Alberta municipal elections financing law, which was in force at all material
times. Mayor Nenshi pleads and relies on the provisions of the Local Authorities
Election Act, RSA 2000, c L-21, as amended, and in particular, the definition of
"Campaign Contribution" and the "Limitations on Contributions" provided therein.
62. In the foregoing respects, Mayor Nenshi denies that the Radio Interview and/or Press
Statements were false, known to be false, or made recklessly as alleged or at all.
Fair Comment
63. Further, and in the alternative, in so far as the Radio Interview and/or Press Statements
include expressions of opinion, Mayor Nenshi states that any and all of the words are
bona fide and fair comment, made in good faith and without malice upon true facts, on
matters of public interest.
64. Issues of reform and transparency in municipal elections financing are longstanding
matters of public interest in Calgary, throughout Alberta, and across Canada. For
example, since 2007, Canadian news media have continuously reported on these issues in
various publications, including, but not limited to, the following:
WSLega1\071762\00001 \9865567v3
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(a) Think City, "Think City Vancouver — Campaign Finance Reform" undated,
online: Think City <http://www.thinkcity.cakampaign_reform>;
(b) Jeremy Klaszus & Adrian Morrow, "Investigating Calgary's 'Wild West'
Campaign Financing" Oct. 4, 2007, online: Fast Forward Weekly
<http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/news/investigating-calgarys-
wild-west-campaign-financin/>;
(c) Darren Krause, "Tax group targets candidates" Oct. 12, 2007, online: Metro News
<http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/67581/tax-group-targets-candidates/>;
(d) Darren Krause, "New faces on city council" Oct. 17, 2007, online• Metro News
<http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/67516/new-faces-on-city-council/>;
(e) Calgary Herald, "Mayor vows review of election financing" Oct. 17, 2007, online:
Canada.com <http://www.canada.comkalgaryherald/story.html?id=2a8e0336-
be7d-424f-9a6b-2fcle8eabd9e>;
(f) Denisa Gavan-Koop, "How to fix campaign finance" Nov. 21, 2007, online: The
Tyee <http://thetyee.caNiews/2007/11/21/FiveReforms/>;
(g) Jeremy Klaszus, "Aldermen call for campaign finance reform" Mar. 6, 2008,
online• Fast Forward Weekly <http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-
views/news/aldermen-call-campaign-finance-reform/>;
(h) Colette Derworiz, "The fight for fair election funding" Oct. 21, 2008, online:
Edmonton Journal
<http://www.edmontonjoumal.com/fight+fair+election+funding/898467/story.ht
ml>;
(i) CBC News, "Limits approved for civic campaign donations" Dec. 1, 2009, online:
CBC <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/limits-approved-for-civic-
campaign-donations-1.815019>;
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(j) Darren Krause, "Aldermen approve donations limits for elections campaigns"
Dec. 2, 2009, online: Metro News
<http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/94 l 78/aldermen-approve-donation-limits-for-
election-campaigns/>;
(k) Public Interest Alberta, "Reforming Political Financing Rules" Mar. 29, 2010,
online: Public Interest Alberta <http://pialberta.org/action-
areas/democracy/issues-solutions/reform-political-financing-rules>;
(1) Kim Guttormson, "Campaign Finance Reform Still in Limbo" Apr. 24, 2011,
online: Global News <http://globalnews.ca/news/27420/campaign-finance-
reform-still-in-limbo/>;
(m) Metro News, "Nenshi Pushing Province for Campaign Finance Reform" Sept. 26,
2011, online: Metro News <http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/27623/nenshi-
pushing-province-for-campaign-finance-reform/>;
(n) Katie Turner, "Nenshi pushing to reform local elections" Sept. 27, 2011, online:
Metro News <http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/27522/nenshi-pushing-to-reform-
local-elections/>;
(o) Katie Turner, "Grades are in for Nenshi" Oct. 14, 2011, online: Metro News
<http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/33447/grades-are-in-for-nenshi/>; and
(p) James Wood, "Nenshi frustrated by province's election rules for cities" Sept. 28,
2012, online: Calgary Herald
<http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Nenshi+frustrated+province+election+rules
+cities/7311227/story. html>.
65. Furthermore, prior to the release of the Wenzel Secret Video and any of the allegations
contained in the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi engaged in public discussion on
matters of election financing and calls for reform in municipal elections financing laws.
In particular:
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(a) On or about July 31, 2008, prior to Mayor Nenshi's first election as mayor of the
City of Calgary, Mayor Nenshi published an article in the Calgary Herald entitled
"Campaign finance reform should be a top priority" July 31, 2008, online:
Calgary Herald
<http ://www.canada.comicalgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=5 lb
61cc5-30c4-48a2-b lca-b035f77f532d>, wherein he stated, in part, as follows:
When people ask me what I think this city council should be doing,they're always surprised to hear that the No. 1 priority should becampaign finance reform.
"That's so technical," they say, "and only government geeks likeyou would care about it. Shouldn't they be working on sprawl,homelessness, transit?"
Indeed they should. But transparency, fairness and participation arethe foundation of clean, effective government, and we can't havethese without fixing the current non-system of campaign finance.
(b) On or about September 16, 2011, Mayor Nenshi sent a personal letter to the
Minister of Municipal Affairs of the Province of Alberta and Premier Ed
Stelmach seeking changes to Provincial legislation governing municipal campaign
finance and disclosure rules for the City of Calgary;
(c) On or about September 16, 2011, Mayor Nenshi released a discussion paper on
matters of election financing, entitled "The Case for Municipal Election
Campaign Finance and Disclosure Reform in Alberta". As part of Mayor
Nenshi's discussion, he emphasized his position as follows:
This matters. Our democracy is threatened when small groups andcertain industries feel that they own the political system. We allsuffer when the best candidates do not come forward because thesystem seems biased towards incumbents and against challengers.Five primary changes are needed to improve the system andultimately lead to better governance.
(d) On or about September 26, 2011, Mayor Nenshi published a blog on his official
Mayor's Blog on the City of Calgary website entitled "Politics should be about the
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best ideas, not the most money", online: The City of Calgary, Mayor's Blog
<http://blog.calgarymayor.ca/2011/09/politics-should-be-about-best-ideas-
not.html>.
66. The Wenzel Secret Video and the Wenzel Threat further engaged and heightened public
debate on these issues of election financing and other important issues of public interest
during the 2013 Election, including:
(a) The economic policy of the City of Calgary;
(b) The future of suburban development and neighbourhood planning in the City of
Calgary, including the future of the Sprawl Subsidy;
(c) The integrity of City Council;
(d) Transparency in Calgary municipal election financing;
(e) The role of special interest groups in Calgary municipal elections; and
(f) The effective enforcement of municipal election laws.
67. This public debate continued up to and including the date of the Radio Interview and
Press Statements, as alleged. The following news media publications from Alberta and
across Canada provide several examples of this ongoing public discussion and heated
debate:
(a) Robson Fletcher, "All but one Calgary alderman shared in $178K from builders
and developers" Apr. 23, 2013, online: Metro News
<http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/645585/all-but-one-calgary-alderman-shared-
in-178k-from-builders-and-developers/>;
(b) Huffington Post Alberta, "Cal Wenzel not sorry for remarks he made on video,
implying million-dollar plan to influence council" Apr. 24, 2013, online:
Huffington Post <http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/24/cal-wenzel-not-sorry-
buying-council_n_3150668.html>;
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(c) Jordon Cooper, "Boldly reform campaign rules" Apr. 29, 2013, online: The Star
Phoenix
<http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=a6fc9233-
3 a71 -4399 -abfe-cc907c46f9be›;
(d) Kelly Ernts, "Calgary campaign spending controversy reminds us of important
democratic values" Apr. 29, 2013, online: Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics
in Leadership
<http://www.chumirethicsfoundation.ca/main/page.php?page_id=-411>;
(e) Gillian Steward, "Secretly recorded video reveals scheme to thwart Calgary's
popular mayor" June 4, 2013, online• The Toronto Star
<http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/06/04/secretly_recorded_vid
eo_reveals_scheme_to_thwart_calgarys_popular_mayor_steward.html›;
(f) Duane Bratt, "Why Alberta remains the wild west of campaign finances" Oct. 15,
2013, online: Global News <http://globalnews.ca/news/902532/why-alberta-
remains-the-wild-west-of-campaign-finances/›; and
(g) Dermond Travis, "Municipal electoral reform should be a priority" Oct. 16, 2013,
online: Canada.com
<http://www.canada.com/news/Guest+Column+Municipal+electoral+reform+sho
uld+priority/9043690/story.html>.
68. Mayor Nenshi further states that his comments in the Radio Interview and Press
Statements, as defined, were not made spontaneously, but were in direct response to
questions and comments by the media on matters affecting both the 2013 Election and
Mayor Nenshi's policies as mayor of the City of Calgary.
69. In particular reference to the comparison drawn by Mayor Nenshi between Wenzel and
the "godfather" in the Radio Interview, Mayor Nenshi relies on the defence of fair
comment based on the true and fair nature of the comparison through popular innuendo.
Maurice Yacowar, Emeritus Professor at the University of Calgary in the Film Studies
program and published author of The Sopranos on the Couch: Analyzing TV's Greatest
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Series (New York: Continuum, 2003), has recently commented on the popular inference
drawn between Wenzel and the "godfather" in this regard ("Film Study", Calgary Herald,
November 19, 2013):
I didn't hear Mayor Naheed Nenshi call developer Cal Wenzel a mafiosoon David Gray's Eye Opener on the CBC. There was a passing referenceto Francis Ford Coppola's great Godfather trilogy.
The first film showed early American gangsters muscling into capitalism.The second film took them into politics, and the third into religion. Thetrilogy dramatized how greed can corrupt even a well-meaning soul, likethe initially idealistic Michael Corleone. I took the word "godfather" toallude to that monument of American culture.
Godfather II showed politicians being swayed by the people who "buy"them, either financially or by other means, such as blackmail orintimidation. In the tape of Wenzel's speech, he clearly exhorts hiscolleagues to fund the candidates who would support the developers'interests. That recalls the first method.
The intimidation is exemplified when he called those councillors whomight oppose urban sprawl the "dark side" and when he sues the mayorfor "defamation."
As the paralysis in U.S. government demonstrates, democracy is not wellserved when its councils subordinate the public good to serving theirspecial interest groups.
Qualified Privilege
70. Further, and in the alternative, the Radio Interview and/or the Press Statements, as
alleged, are subject to qualified privilege.
71. Wenzel's statements in the Wenzel Secret Video and the Wenzel Threat included:
(a) A reference to Mayor Nenshi as the "dark side", which can reasonably be
understood as either:
(i) a racist and defamatory remark; or
(ii) a movie allusion meant to compare Mayor Nenshi to the evil characters in
the well-known Star Wars series;
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(b) direct attacks on Mayor Nenshi's character and the characters of his fellow
members of City Council; and
(c) direct allegations that Mayor Nenshi and/or other members of City Council could
be "bought" or extorted through verbal threats to vote in support of Wenzel's
private interests.
72. Mayor Nenshi pleads and relies on the provisions of the Alberta Municipal Government
Act, RSA 2000, c M-26, as amended and states that, at all material times:
(a) as mayor of the City of Calgary, he owed an objective legal and moral duty to
convey facts and his opinions on matters of public interest affecting the City of
Calgary and the 2013 Election;
(b) as mayor of the City of Calgary, he owed a objective legal and moral duty to call
for and pursue investigation of matters coming to his attention which involved an
apparent violation of Alberta law;
(c) the citizens of the City of Calgary, as represented through the media, had a clear
corresponding interest to receive statements, including facts and opinion on
matters of public interest, from their current and incumbent mayor; and
(d) as the subject of direct attacks by Wenzel in the Wenzel Secret Video and the
Wenzel Threat, as described herein at paragraph 71, he had a duty to respond to
and defend against Wenzel's comments through the media.
73. In response to paragraphs 18, 19, 22, 25, 30 and 31 and the Statement of Claim as a
whole, Mayor Nenshi further states that his comments in the Radio Interview and the
Press Statements were made honestly, with bona fide intent to uphold his legal and moral
duties to the citizens of the City of Calgary, and were without malice or collateral motive.
Wenzel has suffered no damages
74. In response to paragraphs 33 through 38 of the Statement of Claim, Mayor Nenshi denies
that Wenzel has suffered any damages as alleged or at all, as a result of the publication of
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the Radio Interview and/or Press Statements. Mayor Nenshi further denies that the
circumstances merit any award of aggravated, punitive, or exemplary damages.
75. In the alternative and in response to paragraphs 34 and 35 of the Statement of Claim, if
Wenzel has been subjected to ridicule, hatred and contempt and/or has suffered damages
to his character and reputation, which is expressly denied, no such loss or damage is
attributable to any act by Mayor Nenshi. Mayor Nenshi states that any loss or damage
allegedly suffered by Wenzel is attributable to the Wenzel's own actions or the actions of
persons other than Mayor Nenshi.
76. In the alternative, if Wenzel has suffered any loss or damages for which Mayor Nenshi is
responsible, which is expressly denied, then Mayor Nenshi states that such loss or
damage, as claimed, is excessive, too remote to be recoverable at law, or not reasonably
foreseeable.
77. Additionally, and in the alternative, if Wenzel has suffered any loss or damages in the
amount claimed or at all, which is expressly denied, such damages are fully mitigated.
78. In the event that Wenzel has suffered any loss or damages in the amount claimed or at all,
which is expressly denied, Mayor Nenshi states that Wenzel's own actions have
aggravated any damages he may have suffered, and Wenzel is not entitled to
compensation for the same. In particular, by issuing the Media Statement on November
15, 2013, Wenzel drew renewed public attention to the statements allegedly made by
Mayor Nenshi in the Radio Interview and Press Statements, thereby causing further
widespread media exposure of the allegedly defamatory material.
Wenzel's Action is Improper and Deserving of Sanction
79. In further response to paragraphs 34 through 36 and the whole of the Statement of Claim,
Mayor Nenshi states that Wenzel has commenced and pursued this Action for the
principal purpose of preventing or dissuading Mayor Nenshi from publically commenting
on matters of public interest and policy, and seeking excessive damages with knowledge
that he has suffered no harm to his reputation, or loss of any nature, as a result of the
actions of Mayor Nenshi. Wenzel's conduct in this regard is improper, scandalous,
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abusive of this Court's process, amounts to frivolous and vexatious litigation, and is
deserving of sanction in the form of costs on a solicitor and client basis.
80. Furthermore, Wenzel's conduct in commencing this Action reveals his improper use of
this Court's process to draw public attention to himself, his businesses, and his proposed
developments, including the Proposed Belvedere Development. In this regard, Mayor
Nenshi states that the Statement of Claim is a serious abuse of process and should be
struck in its entirety.
Remedy sought:
81. Mayor Nenshi asks that this claim be dismissed, with costs on a solicitor and client basis
or on such other basis as this Honourable Court deems just.
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