March 30 Toronto Charles MacNaughton […]

Graph

When

1976-03-30

Description

March 30 Toronto Charles MacNaughton, chairman of the Ontario Racing Commission, and other racing officials issued writs of libel against John Damien, John Hofsess, Weekend Magazine, and twenty-one Canadian newspapers. This was in reaction to Hofsess's article "Damien's Exile," published in the February 21, 1976, issue of Weekend and which had been distributed through the newspapers. In the article, Damien stated that MacNaughton had fired him because of Damien's homosexuality. The issuing of the writs of libel was seen as a bid to suppress further media coverage of the Damien case. (See also October 5, 1978.)