Faith Goldy ordered to pay Bell Media more than $43,000 in legal fees

TORONTO — A controversial figure who ran as a Toronto mayoral candidate has been ordered to pay more than $43,000 in legal fees to Bell Media after her lawsuit was dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court.

Faith Goldy had sued Bell over its refusal to air her campaign advertisements on a local television station, but the suit was tossed in October. In a decision on Wednesday, Justice Peter Cavanagh ordered Goldy to hand over $43,117.90 to cover Bell's legal fees.

Goldy — who did not immediately respond to a request for comment — is a former journalist whose mayoral campaign included anti-immigrant policies. She finished third in the Oct. 22 election that returned John Tory to the mayor's office.

Goldy had asked the court to order Bell Media to run her ad on its CP24 channel. Her lawsuit alleged that the broadcaster broke national broadcasting rules and breached her right to free expression by refusing to air it.

In his written decision, Cavanagh said Goldy's complaint should be addressed to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission — not the courts.

Bell Media had told the court that it had received over 80 written complaints and requests from a number of groups not to run Goldy's ads.

The Canadian Press