Cherry Smiley alleges she was sexually harassed by former Northwest Territories premier Stephen Kakfwi during an event organized by the Trudeau Foundation, which had paired her with Kakfwi through a mentorship program.
Smiley's lawyer, Kathryn Marshall, says a Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court judge erred when he ruled that he didn't have jurisdiction and that the case should be heard in Quebec. Marshall says the alleged assault in 2018 took place in St. John's and that her client would face linguistic and other barriers by filing the lawsuit in Quebec.
She says the Quebec-based Trudeau Foundation is attempting to delay the suit in an effort to get her client to abandon the case.Kakfwi, who is also named in the suit, has denied the allegations.