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In this report, I take you inside the legal battle between Kelowna drag performer and education assistant Tyson Cook, also known as Freida Whales, and constitutional advocacy group Action4Canada.

The case stems from a 2023 Action4Canada petition that questioned whether Cook — who performs drag at children’s storytime events — should have publicly available online content featuring graphic portrayals of murder and cannibalism, along with sexually suggestive performances, in the same digital space used to promote drag events for kids.

Believing that a drag queen persona that promotes murder and cannibalism is inappropriate for a library Story Time is not hate. Prove me wrong @ORLreads
Report coming soon at https://t.co/Gi9Wj4LxWc https://t.co/Vyy6PVOD5M

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) January 24, 2023

Action4Canada’s petition garnered close to 20,000 signatures and specifically called on the City of Kelowna to “stop Taxpayer Funded Drag Queen Sexualization of Children” and for the local school District to reassess Cook’s suitability to work as an education assistant.

Cook responded by suing the non-profit for defamation, alleging its publications damaged his reputation and amounted to hate. Action4Canada denies those allegations.

Last week’s hearing was not the defamation trial itself. It was Action4Canada’s anti-SLAPP application, brought under B.C.’s Protection of Public Participation Act, asking the court to dismiss Cook’s lawsuit before trial.

I spoke with Action4Canada co-founder Tanya Gaw and Kelowna lawyer Lee Turner, who argued the importance of the case.

That decision could set an important precedent for non-profits like Action4Canada, independent journalists like Rebel News, and concerned parents across Canada who publicly question what children are being exposed to.

Justice Hardwick who presided over the matter of free expression and debate has reserved judgment and is expected to deliver her oral reasons on September 1.