Following comments made at a public forum back in February Conestoga College and its president John Tibbits are being sued for $200,000 after he allegedly called another college president a "whore," according to the Toronto Star. 

The lawsuit, which was launched by Sault College and its president, David Orazietti, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, asks for financial damages as well as "an order requiring the defendants to publicly retract and apologize for having defamed the plaintiffs." 

In February, during a public event, Tibbits and University of Waterloo economist Larry Smith spoke out against allegations of Conestoga College being a "bad actor" soon after the provincial government announced its plan to crack down on private colleges exploiting international students. 

On a podcast episode of "Inside the Village," Orazietti specifically referenced Conestoga as being one of these "bad actors," noting that the number of international students at the college had increased by 32,000. 

Students in shock after Ontario college president calls another college president a 'whore' https://t.co/5IdPWTXa9s

— blogTO (@blogTO) February 15, 2024

"In the last year, 20,000-plus students? How do you take 20,000 students into your community and have housing for them and services and everything that they need without creating chaos? You can take a look at any sort of online discussion sites, where in that community people are really, really upset," Orazietti said during the episode. 

"This is a matter of public record. All of my colleagues know who has been causing problems in the sector, and to hear comments from Conestoga like 'the problem has been the private sector' is really kind of laughable. It's been really irresponsible." 

In response, Tibbits highlighted Sault College's partnership with triOS, which helps deliver its programs to approximately 2,800 students in the GTA outside of its main campus located in Sault Ste. Marie. 

"Like Orazietti, why are his goddamn students in Toronto? Why not up there? Talk about a whore, I mean, he's taking a percentage of the profits of an operation," Tibbits fired back during the public forum. 

In response to the comment, Sault Collge says they "have had to take this necessary step as a last resort, given the seriousness of the public comments made by Mr. Tibbits, to further protect the integrity" of the school. 

"We have been more than reasonable in our request for a direct apology for his personal attacks and misinformation about our college and our operations," the school said in a statement. 

According to the Star, a spokesperson for Conestoga College said the school is aware of the lawsuit but declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.

"Our focus remains on providing high-quality education and fostering a positive learning environment for our students, staff and faculty,” the Conestoga spokesperson said.