Gordon Wilson‘s lawyer says he has officially tabled a settlement offer in a defamation lawsuit against Premier John Horgan, B.C.’s Jobs Minister Bruce Ralston and federal NDP MP Rachel Blaney.
The opening ask? A cool $5 million, the same figure Wilson is asking for in a lawsuit filed last month.
The suit centres around statements by Ralston and Horgan alleging that in his time as B.C.’s LNG advocate, Wilson had not completed any actual work or produced any written reports.
Wilson, a former BC Liberal leader, was paid $500,000 to promote the industry through the LNG Buy BC program, and was fired by the incoming NDP government in August.
But the claim that there was no evidence of completed work proved to be false when a 180-page report penned by Wilson surfaced on the government’s own Open Information website.
Get breaking National news
Ralston and Horgan later issued a full retraction and apology.
But Wilson’s suit claims his reputation was significantly damaged by the allegations, and that the apologies don’t go far enough in repairing that harm.
Wilson’s lawyer Rob Hainsworth said the preferred outcome would be to avoid a trial.
“To settle out of court is certainly our first offer. But as these things go, there is negotiations on both sides and everyone has their own interests,” he said.
“We go back and forth with what’s reasonable and hopefully we’ll find a resolution.”
Hainsworth said he hasn’t heard back from the defendants.
- Ottawa will cut back again on international students with 2025 cap
- Liberals ‘are ready’ for a non-confidence vote, MPs say as test looms
- No, a ‘picture of a bunny’ is not proof of Indigeneity: federal government
- Conservatives start process to find Boissonnault’s business partner in contempt of Parliament
Comments