Judge finds no documentation to support Global News reporting on Han Dong allegations

Provincial Liberal candidate Han Dong celebrates with supporters while taking part in a rally in Toronto on Thursday, May 22, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

OTTAWA — An Ontario Superior Court judge has found no documented evidence to support allegations made against former Liberal MP Han Dong in series of Global News stories last year.

The judge made the comments as he rejected an application from Corus Entertainment to throw out Dong's lawsuit against the news agency, saying it is in the public interest to hear the case.

A report early last year that cited unidentified sources suggested Dong privately advised a senior Chinese diplomat to hold off on freeing the Two Michaels, Canadians who were being held in arbitrary detention in China.

Dong left the Liberal caucus in March 2023 to become an Independent, saying he sought to clear his name after those and other allegations related to foreign interference emerged.

The court found the reporter who wrote the story had no documentation to back up the allegations, did not see a transcript of the conversation between Dong and the diplomat and did not keep notes that reflected what the sources said.

Corus says in a statement it is disappointed in the decision, but it is encouraged by the judge's acknowledgment that foreign interference is a matter of public interest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press