After defying court orders and continuing a prolific campaign of publishing unfounded allegations about a Kelowna-based family and their fruit-packing business, a Supreme Court Justice has issued an arrest warrant for the man behind the blog 'Gangsterism Out.'

The defendant, Daryl Grant MacAskill, is known by multiple online aliases including the name Ace Ventura, which he uses on the Gangsterism Out blog and associated emails to media outlets.

The family that owns and operates Sandher Fruit Packers Ltd. filed a civil claim in the Supreme Court of B.C. against MacAskill in August 2024, requesting that the "campaign of defamation and harassment," that began in March 2024 be stopped.

"The statements also include crude, racist and homophobic language and content. The plaintiffs argue that there is no basis for any of the statements and that their reputation and livelihoods have been adversely impacted by the baseless accusations," said B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gibb-Carsley in his judgement on May 6.

In September, the by Justice Ward Branch. Interlocutory injunctions are used by the court to prevent a person from doing something before the conclusion of the trial, at which time an official ruling is made.

Despite the injunction, MacAskill continued to post about the Sandher farm, business, and family on the blog. 

The Gangsterism Out posts about the Sandhers range from, to allegations that the family is involved in gang activity and criminal behaviour. 

Justice Branch found that the allegations of criminality made by MacAskill were "not credible."

MacAskill later published two posts containing unfounded allegations of corruption against Justice Branch.

In November, the plaintiffs brought forward an application requesting that the courts find MacAskill in contempt of the injunction order as he had not stopped the online campaign of harassment and had not removed any of the defamatory materials from the website. A finding of contempt means that a person has been disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law. MacAskill did not appear at the contempt application but was made aware of the proceedings and the injunction order on multiple occasions.

"I am satisfied that the defendant may be guilty of contempt by violating the terms of the Injunction Order by continuing to post or not removing posts from the blog that contain the defamatory claims," ruled Justice Gibb-Carsley.

The justice also stated that a warrant for arrest be issued for Daryl MacAskill, on May 6, and that he "be brought before the court to answer for his contempt."

Justice Gibb-Carsley also denied both MacAskill's application to cross-examine the Sandhers and his Protection of Public Participation Act application, in which the defendant calls for dismissal of the defamation suit on the basis that it "unduly limits expressions of public interest."

Sandher family responds to court ruling

The president of Sandher Fruit Packing, Prabtaj Sandher, released a statement to Capital 亚洲天堂 regarding the ongoing lawsuit and arrest warrant.

"We are grateful for the court鈥檚 recognition of the severity of this issue and the measures taken to protect our reputation," said Prabtaj.

He said that the "relentless spread of false and harmful claims" has been difficult for his family to manage. 

"What makes this especially painful is seeing the reputation of my parents, who have worked tirelessly their entire lives with unwavering dedication to this farm, put at risk."

Additionally, Prabtaj would like to extend an apology to those who were "unfairly dragged into this" and were the subject of defamatory blog posts in connection to the Sandher family. Kelowna City Councillor Mohini Singh was mentioned in several of the Gangsterism Out blog posts. 

"These erroneous allegations have caused many people a lot of stress and seriously impacted their lives. I hope the courts come down hard on him and set an example for others who might be thinking of doing the same thing," said Singh.

The whereabouts of MacAskill are currently unknown and he does not have a fixed address. 

"Our priority remains serving our community with integrity, dedication, and an honest living through our work at Sandher Fruit Packers," said Prabtaj.