Sault College and its president, David Orazietti, have launched a civil lawsuit against both Conestoga College and its president, John Tibbits, after the two school leaders found themselves embroiled in a heated war of words over the issue of international student enrolment earlier this year.
Both Orazietti and Sault College are claiming $200,000 in damages, plus interest and court costs, over allegations of “false, malicious and defamatory statements” made by Tibbits about Orazietti.
The plaintiffs claim the comments damaged their reputations on both a local and national level, according to a five-page statement of claim filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Sault Ste. Marie on April 11.
The allegations have not been tested in court and a statement of defence has yet to be filed. Tibbits has yet to respond to a request for comment made by SooToday.
The defamation suit stems from a public event in February, where Conestoga College president John Tibbits went so far as to call Orazietti a “whore” who needs to learn to “shut his mouth.”
“I can’t stand the guy, by the way,” Tibbits told CambridgeToday reporter Joe McGinty.
Tibbits was responding to comments Orazietti made during an appearance on Village Media’s Inside the Village podcast. The episode delved into the federal government’s cap on the number of international students coming to Canada, a move aimed at cracking down on the so-called “bad actors” in the post-secondary sector that take advantage of international students.
“We in the sector know who the bad actors are,” Orazietti said on the podcast.
The Sault College president and former Ontario cabinet minister went on to specifically name Conestoga College, located in Kitchener. He said over the past few years, the number of international students at that school has grown by “32,000 easy.”
“In the last year, 20,000-plus students?” Orazietti said. “How do you take 20,000 students into your community and have housing for them and services and everything that they need without creating chaos? You can take a look at any sort of online discussion sites, where in that community people are really, really upset.”
Orazietti was then asked if Conestoga’s conduct had tarnished other colleges in Ontario.
“This is a matter of public record,” he replied. “All of my colleagues know who has been causing problems in the sector, and to hear comments from Conestoga like ‘the problem has been the private sector’ is really kind of laughable. It’s been really irresponsible.”
According to the statement of claim, Orazietti’s statements were “objective and based in fact” at all times. A few days later, Tibbits took an opportunity to serve up his rebuttal while responding to questions from the media regarding the policy decision during an event.
The Conestoga president pointed to Sault College’s partnership with triOS, a private college in the Greater Toronto area. Approximately 2,800 Sault College students are currently enrolled at two triOS campuses under the partnership.
“Like Orazietti, why are his goddamn students in Toronto? Why not up there?” Tibbits said, referring to the Sault during the CambridgeToday interview. “Talk about a whore. I mean, he's taking a percentage of the profits of an operation.”
The statement of claim also alleges that Tibbits made reference to colleges in northern Ontario as “outsourcing their academic programs to places like Toronto” and handing out diplomas like “puppy mills.”
The civil suit also included the following statements made by Tibbits to CambridgeToday reporter Joe McGinty:
- “You should ask Orazietti what he’s doing up in Toronto. Ask him how many beds he built in Toronto? Zero.”
- “This guy has been on the job eight bloody months up there and he’s offering project management in a couple of programs like that in Toronto and offering no services.”
Media coverage of the fiery exchange didn’t end with Village Media, either. Subsequent articles by CBC News, The Globe and Mail, Global and CTV News all firmly planted the mudslinging spectacle on the national stage in the days and weeks that followed.
“In their extended meaning or by innuendo, the statements mean or were meant to convey a message that Sault College and Mr. Orazietti are deceptive, fraudulent and unreliable in their professional activities,” the statement of claim alleges. “The statements were, or were intended to be, a warning to others to avoid any involvement or interaction with Sault College and Mr. Orazietti.”
Unions representing college staff at Conestoga College called on Tibbits to resign in the days that followed his remarks.
The board of governors for Conestoga College issued a news release, stating that the language used by Tibbits was unacceptable and that the president apologized for the remarks — but only after legal counsel for Sault College gave “formal notice pursuant to the Libel and Slander Act” and requested a retraction and apology within five business days.
After deeming that news release “unacceptable,” according to the civil suit, Sault College again requested a formal written apology addressed to Orazietti from Conestoga’s board of governors.
Sault College and Orazietti claim that retraction and apology never materialized, and they have requested an order requiring Tibbits and Conestoga to “publicly retract and apologize for having defamed the plaintiffs,” and to have them published — “in the same manner, with the same prominence as the defamatory statements complained of in this action.”
The plaintiffs are also seeking an injunction barring the defendants from publishing any further “false, misleading or defamatory” statements about them.
“Unfortunately, we have had to take this necessary step as a last resort given the seriousness of the public comments made by Mr. Tibbits,” Orazietti said in a written statement provided to SooToday. “To date, the Conestoga College Board of Governors is either unwilling or unable to hold Mr. Tibbits accountable and have him issue a direct apology for his personal attacks.”
