A judge has awarded the owner of GTA restaurant chain Paramount Fine Foods $2.5 million in damages against a failed mayoral candidate who accused him and his customers of being “jihadists.”In a Monday ruling, Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane E. Ferguson found Kevin Johnston and the website FreedomReport.ca defamed Paramount owner and CEO Mohamad Fakih in a series of videos that showed the self-styled journalist protesting outside a Paramount location in Mississauga.Johnston’s behaviour is “a loathsome example of hate speech at its worst, targeting people solely because of their religion,” Ferguson wrote in a description judgment.In the videos, posted between July 2017 and August 2018, Johnston accused the restaurant chain of being a “front” that is “up to something nefarious,” and said anyone who enters must be a “jihadist.” The videos also ran with an altered photograph of Fakih that depicted him with blood on his hands and face.In an interview with the Star, Fakih said he got emotional when he read the ruling. “Like I said to my children, when people are bullying you, don’t take it as if it’s OK.”Fakih had also sued anti-Muslim agitator Ranendra (Ron) Banerjee over the videos. He was removed from the lawsuit in December after he delivered an “unqualified” apology in a videotaped statement and settled with Fakih for a confidential cash payment.Banerjee was with Johnston protesting outside the Mississauga Paramount location on the same day that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a Liberal Party fundraiser there.“Such hate has no place in Canada and I will not make public comments of this nature in the future,” Banerjee said in his apology.According to Ferguson’s ruling, Johnston did not file any supporting materials in his defence. Speaking to the Star by phone, Johnston said he was “bewildered” by the judgment.According to the r ...
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