Laura Robinson Denies Any Intention ‘to Bring Down’ Furlong

By Keith Fraser
The Province
June 17, 2015

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Laura+Robinson+denies+intention+bring+down+Furlong/11144809/story.html

Freelance journalist Laura Robinson denied a suggestion by John Furlong’s lawyer on Wednesday that her intention in investigating him was to bring down the former Vancouver Olympic CEO.

Under questioning from lawyer John Hunter, Robinson also denied a suggestion that she was on a “campaign to discredit” Furlong when she investigated allegations Furlong had physically abused students more than 40 years ago.

The suggestions came during Hunter’s cross-examination of Robinson during her defamation trial against Furlong. She is alleging that Furlong defamed her after her story was published in the Georgia Straight newspaper in September 2012 outlining the physical abuse allegations. Furlong has denied those allegations.

Hunter noted that while two newspapers — the Toronto Star and the Georgia Straight — had declined to publish allegations that Furlong had sexually abused a child — a small First Nations newspaper that Robinson had contacted did publish the sex allegations.

Hunter suggested that while the Star and Straight had refused to publish the sex allegations, Robinson continued to want to run a story with those allegations. She denied that suggestion.

"Your whole intention throughout here was to bring down Mr. Furlong, wasn’t it?” said Hunter.

“No,” said Robinson.

“He was one of those male authority figures you like to criticize and you thought you had the goods on him, didn’t you?” said Hunter.

“That’s incorrect,” said Robinson.

Hunter also suggested that when Robinson went to Burns Lake to interview possible victims of the abuse, she conducted her interviews in the “most unfair way” by distributing a flyer outlining the allegations and identifying Furlong as her “target.”

Robinson denied the suggestion, noting that she had attended five gatherings of a commission that looked into harm done to students in residential schools of the type that Furlong taught at.

“I intended to meet people who were very honest about their allegations about Mr. Furlong.”

Asked by Hunter why she didn’t just say she wanted to talk to students who had attended the Immaculata school in Burns Lake without identifying Furlong, she said the school had been in place since 1960 and there could be “literally hundreds of people coming forward.”

Hunter suggested another problem with her approach was that 35 people were kept waiting in a band office in Burns Lake and there was a “danger of collusion.”

Robinson denied the collusion charge as well, saying that it was her experience that people talking about what happened to them as children is one of the most difficult things to do and most people will only talk confidentially about such things.

Hunter suggested that after obtaining eight affidavits from people alleging physical abuse by Furlong, she was on a “campaign to discredit” Furlong when she contacted people such as Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson for an interview.

Robinson replied that in the case of Robertson, she wanted to know whether the City of Vancouver, which could nominate a member to the Vancouver Olympic Committee, had done due diligence in hiring Furlong.

“I didn’t have a campaign to discredit Mr. Furlong.”

Hunter suggested that in early May 2012, Robinson was anxious to get the alleged sexual assault victim to go to the RCMP so that she could report it in her story and pushed her to do so.

“I was in no way trying to get her to do that,” said Robinson. “She had told me she was going to do that.”

The RCMP did investigate the sexual assault allegation but declined to lay any charges against Furlong, court has heard.

Robinson’s cross-examination is expected to continue Thursday.

Contact: kfraser@theprovince.com