
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim sues former chief of staff for defamation
According to a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court Friday, political strategist Kareem Allam, who had worked as Sim's campaign manager and chief of staff, told Alexander Tsakumis, a local businessman who is active on social media, that the mayor was pulled over by Vancouver police after driving while intoxicated, and officers let him go without being booked or cited for his actions.
The claim says Allam told the story to Tsakumis in November 2023, less than a year after Allam was terminated as Sim's chief of staff, "with the intent that Mr. Tsakumis could publish the statements to others, including on the internet."
It alleges Allam told a member of Sim's ABC Vancouver party that someone in the mayor's office told him that Sim had been pulled over by police for driving under the influence, and the mayor's office staffer and a VPD officer had "taken care of it."
The suit claims Tsakumis posted a message on X on Nov. 23, 2023, accusing the mayor of driving drunk and using his influence to avoid consequences.
It alleges Allam and Tsakumis made the comments "with malice, knowing them to be false, or in reckless disregard to the truth of the statements," and they "intended and expected" that others would republish the defamatory language.
The suit says the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) investigated following Tsakumis's social media post, and the VPD's chief constable issued a report that concluded the OPCC investigation found "no objective evidence of an interaction between members of the VPD and [Sim]" as described in the post.
It said the chief constable "further concluded the matter to be baseless and that Mr. Tsakumis irresponsibly used the X.com platform to spread a rumour communicated to him by Mr. Allam."
Speaking to CBC News Friday, Allam said he plans to "vigorously defend" himself.
"It is a matter of public record that I was not the source of these rumours," Allam said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBC
12 minutes ago
- CBC
B.C. man sentenced to 4.5 years in prison after selling fentanyl in P.E.I.
Raiyaaz Rahim Aziz, 19, said he thought he was coming to P.E.I. to sell cannabis. But police seized fentanyl, crystal meth and cocaine from the Airbnb where he was staying. CBC's Nicola MacLeod has the details of the court case.


CTV News
14 minutes ago
- CTV News
Alliston, Ont. man accused of weapons charges sentenced for aggravated assault
Kody Berdan, 36, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault stemming from an October 2023 beating of a man along Victoria Street in Alliston.

CTV News
14 minutes ago
- CTV News
Conservation around hockey culture, consent continues as high-profile trial closes
The high-profile trial involving five former junior hockey players sparks a conversation about hockey culture. A high-profile court case has closed but the national conversation around hockey culture and consent is far from over. The five former Hockey Canada World Junior players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018 were acquitted of all charges on Thursday. The trial, which began eight weeks ago, closed with the Ontario Supreme Court judge finding the complainant's testimony was 'not reliable or credible.' All five players had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Legal expert and Dalhousie emeritus professor of law Wayne MacKay says the not guilty verdict doesn't mean the players' behaviour wasn't harmful or offensive. 'They (the judge) say not guilty of sexual assault for a reason but it certainly doesn't say they are innocent of bad conduct,' said MacKay. 'In fact, I think most people would say they did engage in bad conduct.' Regardless of the verdict, the high-profile case has once again turned the spotlight on elite hockey culture and the institutions that oversee and shape them. 'I think there is a reconciliation, a justice, a healing and accountability that needs to happen,' said Miia Suokonautio, CEO of the Halifax YWCA and a hockey parent. 'And that's separate from a judicial process and we put a lot of eggs into the basket.' Suokonautio says while elite level sports are hyper focused on player performance, more focus needs to be put on character development and behavior off the ice. And the trial is helping spark that conversation. 'To start talking about what's actually happening,' said Suokonautio. 'And not just having a session with players but every coach and every parent has a responsibility.' Though cleared in court, the players remain under suspension by both Hockey Canada and the NHL. While the complainant E.M. and her supporters may have lost the legal battle, MacKay says the trial's impacts are far from over. 'I'm sure it doesn't feel like that to E.M. or her supporters but in one sense they did win,' said MacKay. 'Because they raised the profile of the problem in a real way and it's really an extension of the MeToo movement.'