NPA president B.C. Lee admitted the cost of fighting a defamation lawsuit filed by Vision Vancouver during last year’s election campaign influenced an out-of-court settlement announced Sept. 21.
“This is one of the factors of consideration,” Lee told the Courier. “The most important thing is that we should be using our resources wisely and make sure it’s all directed to the next election.”
Lee said the parties “agreed to share some of the legal costs,” but declined to elaborate.
“Pleased to accept NPA apology re: statements about [Coun. Geoff Meggs] and me in the last election,” tweeted Mayor Gregor Robertson. “Hopeful for a more civil politics in years ahead.”
Pleased to accept NPA apology re: statements about @geoffmeggs and me in the last election. Hopeful for a more civil politics in years ahead
— Gregor Robertson (@MayorGregor) September 21, 2015
Vision sued the NPA and mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe for defamation last Nov. 6, after LaPointe penned a commentary in the Province headlined “Vision Vancouver’s cash-for-jobs deal with the city union is corrupt.”
LaPointe referenced an audio recording leaked to the Courier of CUPE Local 1004’s Oct. 14 meeting where Meggs vowed his party would not contract out work if re-elected. Later in the meeting, members of the civic outside workers’ union voted to donate $34,000 to Vision. According to Elections B.C., CUPE donated $230,900 to Vision’s 2014 campaign. Local 1004’s contract expires on Dec. 31, 2015.
NPA’s defence statement, filed on the eve of the Nov. 15 election, claimed Vision sought to restrain LaPointe and the NPA’s “right to political speech.”
The controversy made political fundraising a campaign issue and prompted major parties to issue preliminary lists of donors. Robertson was re-elected mayor with a smaller city council majority, but Vision lost control of both park and school boards. A conflict of interest petition to B.C. Supreme Court seeking Robertson and Meggs’ ouster failed on April 17 when Justice Elliott Myers ruled that there was “no evidence… that Local 1004's contribution was anything other than a lawful political contribution.” The appeal was abandoned last week.
“The NPA and Mr. LaPointe accept this judgment, withdraw their allegations, and apologize for any harm that may have been caused to the Mayor and Councillor Meggs,” said a Sept. 21 news release announcing the settlement.
Neither petition leader Randy Helten nor his lawyer, David Wotherspoon, would comment. Wotherspoon also acted for the NPA in the defamation matter.
If it had gone to trial, NPA was expected to plead qualified privilege. That defense worked in 1997 for the B.C. Liberals against Ironworkers Local 97, which claimed to be defamed by a news release that called donations to the NDP from unionized workers on the Island Highway project part of a “kick back scheme.”
bob@bobmackin.ca
@bobmackin
