The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal by former University of Ottawa professor Denis Rancourt to overturn their decision in the civil suit brought against him by U of O professor Joanne St. Lewis over a racial slur he used in a 2011 blog post.
The post in question referred to St. Lewis as U of O president, Allan Rock’s “house negro.”
St. Lewis sued Rancourt for libel over the offending blog post, and the Supreme Court awarded her $350,000 in damages, after a three-and-a-half-year legal battle. After the verdict was given on Feb. 18, St. Lewis told the Ottawa Citizen that it felt “fabulous.”
In his appeal, Rancourt claimed that the decision would “take my family home, life savings and pension,” and has asked for donations to the “Denis Rancourt Legal Fund” through his blog.
He also said in his appeal that the lawsuit wouldn’t have happened if the U of O hadn’t funded St. Lewis’ suit. According to the Ontario Civil Liberties Association, Rancourt will appeal the Supreme Court’s decision to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations.
