The Irish hip-hop group Kneecap says it has begun legal action against Vince Gasparro, the Liberal parliamentary secretary who posted a video on social media announcing an apparent ban on the group entering Canada that their lawyer says caused “substantial” harm.
Lawyer Darragh Mackin told Global News that a defamation case is being pursued in Ireland against Gasparro, who Mackin said was served with a notice of claim over the weekend.
“Our clients have been subject to serious and unfounded assertions by way of a public video posted on a personal social media account which has caused substantial reputational harm,” Mackin said in a statement from Belfast human rights law firm Phoenix Law on Saturday.
“The statements made by Mr. Gasparro were wholly inaccurate and defamatory without any reason or justification. … Kneecap, just like every private citizen, are entitled to fairness and the protection of their good name and reputation. These proceedings have been initiated to vindicate those rights.”
In a response tabled last week in the House of Commons to an order paper question by NDP MP Jenny Kwan about the handling of the case, federal officials said they were not involved, and it remains unclear which advice from officials Gasparro was citing in his post.
“It is unprecedented for a government minister without consultation with the prime minister or the respective department to take to matters into their own hands via their own social media channel,” Mackin said. “Such clickbait tactics have no place in a modern democracy.”
In their own written response to Kwan’s request for documents, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh’s electronic travel authorization (eTA) was cancelled for inadmissibility in August — a month before Gasparro’s announcement — and that he was notified of the decision.
It made no mention of the since-dropped criminal charge against Óg Ó hAnnaidh in the U.K. that accused him of flying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert last year, which Gasparro specifically cited as a reason for the apparent entry ban.
