[12] The four students were concerned that Muslims were unfairly portrayed in the article. Before taking action, they looked into a number of things, dividing the work between them. They wanted to find out whether the article was the only one of its type in Maclean’s. They researched that question, and concluded that Maclean’s had published about twenty other articles with what they believed was similar content, in the prior two or three years, and no articles with a different perspective. They looked at potential avenues of legal redress. They determined that Maclean’s was not a member of a press council. That avenue for complaint was therefore closed. They ultimately decided to approach Maclean’s and ask that it publish a response to the article. [13] The students thought they would not have credibility on their own and therefore canvassed national Muslim organizations for support, including at least the CCAIR, the Muslim Association of Canada and the CIC. Ultimately, they decided to work with the CIC. [14] One of the other students contacted Maclean’s and asked for a meeting to discuss their concerns. Ms. Mithoowani testified that she was surprised that Maclean’s agreed to a meeting and she thought it was a positive step. [15] The four students then got together to decide what they wanted to present to Maclean’s at the meeting. They decided on an initial pitch and expected that it would be the starting point for a negotiation. That starting point was as follows: they planned to ask for the publication of an article of equal length and prominence by a mutually acceptable author who was a credible, prominent Muslim, expressing a contrary view than that expressed in the article. They also planned to ask for a donation to a charitable organization in the area of race relations, but thought that they would probably drop that request in the course of the negotiation. They discussed the amount of $5,000 to $10,000. [16] In preparation, the students also decided which of them would speak to each specific part of their presentation. The plaintiff had responsibility for speaking about the problematic messages in the article. Ms. Sheikh had responsibility for speaking about the students’ proposed remedy. At a much later stage, what was said at the meeting about this latter topic would come to be a significant area of dispute, especially with respect to the proposed author. With respect to their plan, I find that the students intended to propose a mutually acceptable author. [17] Thus, the students discussed and reflected on the issues. They did research into Maclean’s’ track record. They sought support, expecting that they alone would not be taken seriously. They did not move precipitously. This resulted in delay. They did not approach Maclean’s until about five months after the article had been published. This significant delay did not assist them in their dialogue with Maclean’s. Maclean’s meeting [18] The meeting took place on March 30, 2007. While the students wanted to be properly prepared, they did not see it as the type of meeting that required that they wear suits or take 2014 ONSC 6890 (CanLII) Page: 3