Julie Payette drops legal battle to seal public records of her divorce proceedings
Julie Payette, the former astronaut who will be Canada’s next governor general, is ending a month-long legal fight to remove the court files of her divorce proceedings from the public record.
A coalition of six Canadian media organizations — Postmedia, CBC, CTV, iPolitics, the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star — challenged Payette’s attempt in a Maryland court to seal her divorce file, which in the State of Maryland is public by default. A Maryland court ruled last month in favour of the media’s arguments that the bulk of the file should remain public, but Payette immediately launched an appeal.
On Monday afternoon, however, as those media outlets were preparing to publish stories revealing Payette’s legal efforts, her lawyers announced she would drop the appeal.
“Very few families are immune from difficult moments in life — mine included,” Payette said in a statement released to the coalition through a Rideau Hall spokesperson Monday. “I have worked hard to put these difficult events behind me and move on with the best interest of my son in mind.
“Though a Maryland court was currently considering an appeal to maintain our family’s privacy, for reasons of transparency and to leave no doubt, I have decided to voluntarily drop this appeal and release the divorce files. I trust Canadians and media will distinguish between matters of public interest and private life.”