Defendant says sorry to former UBC professor days before defamation trial to start

One of several accusers of former University of British Columbia professor Steven Galloway has issued a lengthy apology just days before a defamation trial in the case is expected to begin. 

Chelsea Rooney says she communicated serious and unproven allegations against Galloway and that she was involved in collecting complaints in an attempt to build a case against him. 

Much of Rooney’s apology appears in the National Post newspaper today and is also posted on the website gallowayapologies.com, along with eight other statements from those who say they regret communications or actions that accused Galloway of sexual assault. 

Rooney, who is a defendant in the B.C. Supreme Court case due to start Monday, says she recognizes the communications she circulated about Galloway caused others to believe they were true, and she’s aware he firmly denies that he sexually assaulted a student only know as A.B.

Galloway was was never charged, though he was fired from his job as a writing professor and a report by retired B.C. Supreme Court judge Mary Ellen Boyd that was commissioned by the university concluded the claims against him were unsubstantiated. 

The Supreme Court of Canada in 2024 dismissed an appeal by Galloway’s accusers of a B.C. appeal court finding, clearing the way for the defamation trial. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2026. 

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