Supreme Court to rule on whether comedian crossed a legal line by mocking disabled child singer | CBC News

The ruling will be significant because it will have to strike a balance between a person’s right to live in dignity and the right to free speech.

Gabriel became famous after singing for well-known public figures such as Céline Dion and was even flown to Rome to sing for Pope Benedict in 2006.

In 2012, when Gabriel was 15 and still a high school student in Quebec, his family filed a complaint against Ward with Quebec’s Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission, which referred the matter to a human rights tribunal. 

The family told the tribunal that Ward, who has been a comedian in Quebec since 1993, violated Gabriel’s dignity, honour and reputation by making a series of demeaning jokes about him.

From September 2010 to March 2013, Ward had a live show called “Mike Ward s’eXpose” in which he ridiculed so-called “sacred cows” — people Ward said are not generally laughed at because they are rich, influential or weak.

According to the human rights tribunal’s judgment, Ward described Gabriel in his live shows as “little Jérémy” and “the kid with the sub-woofer on his head.”

Mocking Gabriel’s mother

Ward told his audience that people who don’t like Gabriel’s singing voice should give him a break because “he’s dying, let him live out his dream.” He also joked about wanting to drown him five years later because “he’s still not dead!”

The tribunal’s judgment also said that in three years, the live show was presented 230 times and sold approximately 135,000 tickets.

Ward also made a series of online videos featuring Gabriel, describing him as the “ugly singing kid,” mocking him because his mouth does not shut completely — a symptom of his condition — and insinuating that his mother used his money to buy herself luxury goods.

Ward has said that he draws a distinction between persecution of an individual and an artistic work produced for a consenting audience, and that he has contributed to fundraisers that help people with disabilities.

Since being born prematurely in 1996, Gabriel has undergone 23 operations and has been hospitalized on numerous occasions for complications related to his condition.

Treacher Collins Syndrome left Gabriel with severe deafness that was reversed at age six when he had a bone-anchored hearing aid implanted. The device restored up to 90 per cent of his hearing, allowing him to become a singer. 

‘It made me think my life is worth less than another’s’

Gabriel’s representatives told the tribunal that he first became aware that he was being mocked by Ward in 2010, when he was still in high school. The tribunal heard that he felt “disgusted” and “hurt” because people were laughing at his physical appearance.

The tribunal heard that Gabriel grew despondent, contemplated suicide and sought psychiatric help to cope with the ridicule he experienced from other students.

“I was 12 or 13 when I saw those videos,” Gabriel told the tribunal. “I didn’t have maturity to be strong in the face of this — I lost confidence and hope. It made me think my life is worth less than another’s because I’m handicapped.”

The tribunal ruled in Gabriel’s favour in 2016, awarding him $25,000 for moral damages and another $10,000 for punitive damages. Gabriel’s mother was awarded $5,000 for moral damages and another $2,000 for punitive damages. 

Ward appealed the decision and in 2019 the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled in a 2-1 decision that Ward’s comments compromised the young performer’s right to safeguard of his dignity and could not be justified, even in a society where freedom of expression is valued.

The court gave Ward a partial victory by quashing the tribunal’s order awarding damages to Gabriel’s mother, finding that she was not subjected to discrimination.

The dissenting judge wrote that she disagreed with the tribunal’s conclusion that the comments were discriminatory.