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SLAPPing residents in Rocky View: Culture jamming and propaganda battles

Just when you thought you’d heard and seen it all, there is growing evidence that residents in Rocky View County are being subjected to legal intimidation in order to silence their ever-growing concerns about the actions of their elected council.

Two community website owners have received “cease and desist” orders from lawyers representing the Rocky View County, raising fears that the County’s own residents are now the target of a campaign known as SLAPP–Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. (Read the letter received from the lawyers here: http://bit.ly/9ojXMz). The County has recently posted the cease and desist letter on its website in response to hundreds of letters from citizens demanding transparency.

We have what appears to be a “made in Alberta” example of SLAPP happening in the communities west of Calgary, including Bearspaw and Springbank. At http://www.ourspringbank.ca, the site owners received a letter asking them to “cease and desist using the county NAME and mark in all respects” which may be unprecedented in Alberta as an approach to dealing with local citizens who are critical of a municipal council’s decisions. (read a related commentary).

What makes this letter completely “over the top” is its inclusion of the word, “name” in its demand. Residents are not only forbidden from using the mark of the County “in all respects” (including for satirical purposes) but also from using the name? How are bloggers, commentators and residents in the area going to discuss County issues and decisions on line with this type of a gag order hanging over their heads?

Also of interest is that not all websites in the community received the cease and desist orders–only those critical of the County’s actions. Other websites supportive of the County (some of which coincidentally accept advertising dollars from developers and are run by spouses of Rocky View councillors) have NOT been served with cease and desist orders asking them to stop using the name. It appears that certain websites have been singled out for legal action based on their content while others can continue.

What is all the ruckus about?

Www.canadianguerilla.ca had created a spoof of the County of Rocky View’s logo (involving at various stages a bulldozer and a cartoon turkey) and the accompanying slogan, “Paving Paradise.” There was also a parody of the County’s question and answer sheet relating to a recent by-law that was proposed. The by-law was advertised just before Christmas and in early January passed third reading. Critics had charged that the County tried to rush the by-law through over the Christmas holidays when people are less likely to come out and oppose it. (for a taste of what Canadian Guerilla was talking about prior to being SLAPPed)

The by-law was of concern because it essentially paved the way for the County to justify further borrowing on a water and wastewater project to support the CrossIron Mills Mall. The project is already substantially overbudget and many fear it is driving the County much deeper into debt than should be legally allowed. The parody of the County’s original FAQ document attempted to provide residents with truthful answers to questions about the complex by-law. It was titled, “Frequently Asked Questions UnSpun.”

(As it turns out, the County has actually decided to create a private corporation to assume the debt. The water utility will be called “Aquaduct Utilities Corporation” and it’s not at all clear as to the financial model and liability to be assumed by the taxpayer, but that’s another post at: https://nocalgaryveto.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/rocky-view-also-creating-a-new-water-utility/)

Reeve of “Habberville” responds…finally

The Reeve claims in her recently posted response to the growing controversy (see http://bit.ly/9aZr0I) that it is not an issue of free speech but one of mis-use of the brand identity. There is no doubt that the logo was altered, but it was done in the fine tradition of parody logos (see some examples at: http://bit.ly/bA4LHM)? This is known to the rest of the world as “culture jamming” and is a legitimate method of fighting corporate propaganda. Apparently, the local government in Rocky View feels it should be immune to this kind of propaganda-busting and is willing to spend taxpayer dollars to hire lawyers to fight for this immunity. Strangely enough, the county is effectively suing its own boss, as the lawsuits are against citizens they’ve been elected to represent!

At http://www.canadianguerilla.com, the site owner has also received a second legal threat warning him against publishing or posting a publication he was working on called, “Building Habberville.” The short booklet, named after County of Rocky View Reeve, Lois Habberfield and detailing the history of “rampant urbanization” in the county, including a look at tactics used to approve construction of the CrossIron Mills Mall. The monster-sized shopping mall north of Calgary is one of the most controversial developments in the province in the last 10 years. (see background) All work on that book project has been put on hold as a result of the legal action. Another win for the bad guys.

Why should I care?

According to Wikipedia, SLAPP is a technique “intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.” Quebec is the only province to have anti-SLAPP legislation in place. British Columbia had such legislation in 2001, but it was repealed after only a few short months. The Church of Scientology has been known to employ the SLAPP technique to silence its critics.

As the authors of the http://www.ourspringbank.ca website point out, the Ontario Superior Court has said:

“… Governments are accountable to the people through the ballot box, and not to judges or juries in courts of law.  When a government is criticized, its recourse is in the public domain, not the courts.  The government may not imprison, or fine, or sue, those who criticize it.  The government may respond.  This is fundamental.  Litigation is a form of force, and the government must not silence its critics by force.”

Even more disturbing is that the residents report they have requested that the Minister of Municipal Affairs step in to order retraction of the cease and desist notices. Thus far, the residents’ plea for help from the Minister have gone unanswered. A letter sent to all MLA’s asking for their help received not a single response, let alone any offers of help. The MLA for the area, Finance Minister Ted Morton, has been strangely silent on the entire debacle. It seems that the provincial government also sees nothing wrong with threatening legal action against citizens who voice disagreement. The ramifications are frightening.