Northern Ont. man awarded $75K in defamation suit after ex-spouse attacks him on social media

A northern Ontario woman who made several untrue statements about her former spouse on social media has lost a defamation suit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

A northern Ontario woman who made several untrue statements about her former spouse on social media has lost a defamation suit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The former couple, who come from Batchewana First Nation, had a falling out after they opened a smoke shop in 2018.

He sued her for defamation when she attacked him on the company’s Facebook page, accusing him of being a violent drug addict who abandoned his family, among other things. She also accused him of sexual abuse of their daughter, a claim later proven false.

According to the court decision, dated July 24, the man handled the business side of things at the smoke shack and the woman handled social media and other technological aspects because she “was more computer savvy.”

“The defendant was also actively involved in the social media accounts for the smoke shack and created and maintained the Facebook account for the business,” the decision said.

“It was the evidence of the plaintiff that the defendant told him that there was over 2,000 followers on the Facebook account of the smoke shack and the plaintiff also observed this personally when he looked on Facebook.”

While the business became profitable after six months, the relationship between the couple turned sour. The man said she became obsessed with money and became “arrogant and bossy.”