Lawyer Implicated in Wikipedia Editing Scandal of Independent Media Outlet Appointed to Ontario Court

Liberals never change! A century ago, in the United Kingdom, they were selling peerage robes. Today, in Canada, they're selling judicial robes.

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Alexandre Kaufman, who was named an Ontario Superior Court judge on Monday, was implicated in 2016 of being involved in the editing of the Wikipedia page of independent media outlet Blacklock's Reporter.

Well-respected independent Canadian news outlet Blacklock’s Reporter has said that a federal lawyer who was implicated in editing the organization’s Wikipedia page years ago has now been named an Ontario Superior Court judge. 

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Alexandre Kaufman, who formerly worked with the Department of Justice, was on Monday appointed to one of Ontario’s higher courts. This is despite the fact that a 2016 incident Kaufman was involved in led to disciplinary “measures against an unidentified courthouse clerk.”

In 2016, when Kaufman was a federal lawyer, he had successfully defended Canada’s finance department against Blacklock’s “copyright action in Federal Court.”  

According to Access To Information records, however, Kaufman, only minutes after the court ruling, reportedly emailed 22 high-profile people, including senior journalists, law firms, federal workers, and lawyers, what could be described as a victory memo.

In the email, Kaufman announced that “Christmas came early,” adding to his recipients, “Please enjoy.”

In response to his seemingly celebratory email, a counsel for the Bank of Canada replied, “Very well done Alex,” adding, “A wonder kick in the knackers for Blacklock’s.” The bank counsel later issued an apology for sending the email.  

Further raising flags surrounding Kaufman’s conduct, documents show that a person using a federal court computer, at the same time as Kaufman’s mass email was sent, made edits to the Blacklock’s Wikipedia page. Despite the timing of the entry, managers with the court refused to say who made the entry, or if it came via a request from Kaufman. 

Canada’s Courts Administration Service claimed in its annual report to Parliament at the time that “Judicial independence is a cornerstone of the Canadian judicial system.” 

However, Kaufman later resigned from the Department of Justice just before records were released regarding the incident.  

The Courts Administration Service said about the incident that “Disciplinary measures were taken against an employee,” and that the measures taken “took into consideration the employee’s wrongdoing.” 

Interestingly, the 2016 Wikipedia editing incident was not the only incident involving Kaufman and Blacklock’s. There was a separate incident in which Kaufman reportedly emailed Blacklock’s witnesses, who had filed sworn statements, telling them, “You are free to withdraw your affidavit” to avoid cross-examination. 

In 2018, Canada’s Federal Court rejected accusations that witness tampering took place in the case, with Kaufman himself commenting that he was “just doing [his] job.”  

In recent weeks, information has come to light that has revealed the extent to which nepotism appears to be influencing the appointment of Canadian judges. 

Yesterday, LifeSiteNews reported on how an ongoing investigation into potential favoritism in Canadian judicial appointments has shown that multiple superior court justices appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were not only party donors, but also attended high-fee Liberal Party fundraisers shortly before their bench appointments.   

The data reveals that of the 1,308 judicial and tribunal appointments made by the Trudeau Liberals since again coming to power in 2016, a whopping 76.3 percent had given money to the Liberal Party of Canada.