A key aspect of a story in a Vancouver weekly newspaper in which it's claimed John Furlong physically and verbally abused aboriginal students is being dismissed in a statement of claim filed this week on behalf of the former Vancouver Olympic chief executive.
The story, written by freelance reporter Laura Robinson and published Sept. 27 in the Georgia Straight, relies significantly on eight statutory declarations filed with a Burns Lake lawyer to support allegations Furlong bullied and racially taunted the students when he was a volunteer coach and teacher at Immaculata School, in the community west of Prince George for 14 months starting in 1969.
In the statement, filed with the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, Furlong, who is alleging defamation and is seeking an apology and award for damages, contends Robinson "knew or ought to have known" prior to the story's publication the declarations "were not reliable."
Moreover, Furlong's says that starting in May, Robinson sent copies of the declarations or repeated the allegations in them to a number of his friends and colleagues "under the guise of seeking comment for the Georgia Straight article but with the true intent of discrediting the plaintiff."
In July, Robinson provided copies of the declarations - one being an anonymized version - to Furlong's representatives and three days later, his lawyer wrote to Robinson saying Furlong "vigorously denies any wrongdoing of any description whatsoever" and warned that anyone who disseminates the information Robinson had forwarded, "will face a civil action."
According to Furlong's statement of claim, Robinson also filed a report with the RCMP alleging abuse by Furlong of a former student but by late August, police advised Georgia Straight editor Charlie Smith that "there were inconsistencies" between Robinson's account and that of the former student she had named.
Two days before it was printed, Furlong learned the Georgia Straight was likely to publish the story and the next day, his lawyer wrote a letter to Smith saying the allegations are "incorrect and defamatory."
The statement also expands on Furlong's allegation, made in a statement to the media the day the story was published, that blackmail may have been a motive for one of the accusers. He says a woman and her lawyer approached him prior to the Vancouver Olympic Games with "founded and untrue allegations" he assaulted her during his time in Burns Lake and for $5,000, her allegations "would go away."
Furlong says he reported what happened to the RCMP and claims Robinson knew about the incident before the story was published.
Both the Georgia Straight and Robinson have declined to comment on Furlong's statement of claim, but Robinson has said in the past she plans to countersue Furlong.
None of the allegations made in the statutory declarations or in Furlong's statement of claim have yet been proven in court.
