Comments about YTG staff prompted legal threats
The unknown creator of a website dedicated to the Whistle Bend subdivision controversy has bowed to legal threats from the Yukon government.
The unknown creator of a website dedicated to the Whistle Bend subdivision controversy has bowed to legal threats from the Yukon government.
Government lawyer Philippa Lawson sent a letter to the website company early last week.
It threatened legal action if certain comments on a particular site about senior government employees were not removed before April 12.
The remarks have been deleted, though it's not clear when they were removed or who created the site.
Many comments on the website call into question how the government has managed the Whistle Bend project, and large contracts in general.
One comment posted on Jan. 16 named two senior officials and attacked their ability to do their jobs.
In her April 7 letter to the website company which ended up posted on the site, the government lawyer wrote:
"The public, including yourself, has every right to express opinions about their government and to criticize public officials. However, freedom of expression is not absolute.
"False assertions about an individual that tend to harm the reputation of the individual are defamatory and actionable as such.”
Lawson went on to say: "We expect you to take such steps as are necessary to remove the underlined statements immediately. If these statements are not permanently removed from the blog by April 12, 2013, you may expect legal action against yourself and the individual who posted the comments.”
Department of Justice spokesman Dan Cable said this morning the remarks were brought to the attention of the Justice department in March. Some research was done and the letter was sent in early April, he said.
The letter was sent to the company which manages the website business. The company passed the message on to the creators of that particular website, who removed the comments and posted Lawson's letter. The government, he said, does not know who created the site.
The government and Norcope Enterprises are embroiled in a legal battle over a $15.9-million contract Norcope was awarded in 2011 to install the underground water and sewer pipes for phases one and two of the new subdivision.
Both parties are blaming each other for problems with the project.
Norcope president Doug Gonder said Thursday he doesn't know anything about the website, nor who created it.
Gonder said all he knows is that the government owes him a big chunk of money he's still trying to collect.
A comment posted on the site in mid-March said the cancellation of the F.H. Collins Secondary School project is a glaring example of the Yukon Party's inability to manage large projects.
With the contractors' bids almost $10 million higher than what the government budgeted for, it has decided to pursue a campus-type design for the new school, possibly involving a new French-language secondary school.
Comments (13)
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Waste of money on Apr 24, 2013 at 10:09 am
Don't know weather to laugh or cry that YGs action has driven exponential traffic to this site. I seriously doubt that YG could pursue any action on a site that is most likely hosted outside of the country.
Well past the time for whistle blower action.
I have to also agree that Wasteland bend is a planning abomination.
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Dorothy drake on Apr 24, 2013 at 9:42 am
When a contractor does a shoddy job why should he be paid until all work is corrected. The government has the right to hold back monies until it is brought up to a standard and to the contract. To many short cuts have been made over the years by some contractors and it is about time that the government put their foot down. That is my tax dollars. So Mr. Contractor go fix up your mistakes instead of being a bully and then maybe you will get paid.
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north_of_60 on Apr 24, 2013 at 6:26 am
Legal threats are a good sign that the government is struggling to cover up the engineering mistakes that led to millions of cubic meters of fill trucked in, and a dust-bowl wasteland created.
This is a classic 'cover up' in so many ways. ...but it's the Yukon so no investigative reporting will be done.
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Hope fades on Apr 24, 2013 at 2:22 am
Clayton stole the words out of my mouth.
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This Could Be Saved on Apr 24, 2013 at 1:07 am
After looking at the Whistle Bend lots I think a simple aproach would be to acknowedge they were made to small and double up on the size of the lots, making one new decent size lot out of each two existing lots so people would want to live there. With a proper size lot and some landscaping it could still be a nice place to live, but it will take a lot of work.
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Arn Anderson on Apr 23, 2013 at 9:50 am
Anytime a human follows another human and calls him leader, there will be no shortage of police states.
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Anonymous on Apr 23, 2013 at 6:44 am
I received another threat from the YTG legal department. It would now seem that we are living in a communist country as free speech is no longer permitted.
I would expect that thousands of dollars are being wasted through this fiasco. Why not be accountable and own up to the mishandling of the projects ?
somebody needs to take responsibility !!
This Police State attitude has to go , people screwed up, now pay up !
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bobby bitman on Apr 22, 2013 at 7:23 am
I just visited the link posted by 'anonymous' here, and it was a very illuminating read. Not sure I want to say more in case I tie up more of my tax dollars with YTG lawyers threatening to sue people who criticize bureaucrats, but I will say these things:
I do not blame bureaucrats for being suspicious that contractors bidding on their projects are charging more than they normally would because 'it's a government contract'. Then again, most people working at YTG would not be making the salaries they are if they were working in the private sector either. And they would have to have better qualifications and would have to perform a lot more work. The alleged 'underqualification' of bureaucrats in charge at Community Services, specifically in overseeing huge construction projects, is one of the themes of the website. We have examples that allude to this outside of Whistle Bend as well: the hospitals, FH Collins..
The allegations that some personalities working in Community services hold vendettas or manipulate the contracting is very serious. Read the website, it names names.
Elaine Taylor needs to straighten out her department. At the very least she should look into these allegations as they do seem credible to this tax payer.
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flyingfur on Apr 22, 2013 at 3:29 am
Maybe if the public could get a straight answer out of the current government, this kind of drastic step would not be necessary. As an example, Pasloski's recent remark about why YG will not support a national inquiry into deceased and missing aboriginal women was erratic, stupid, and unethical. Not sure how he actually had the nerve to say those words. Shame on our premier.
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Clayton Thomas on Apr 22, 2013 at 1:44 am
I m having a hard time getting my head wrapped around this. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's going down something like this.
Someone develops a website dedicated to the crappy management of public projects and mishandling of public funds. Brilliant.
The comments on this website may harm these government officials reputations.... for doing a horribly crappy job.
So our tax dollars are going to Yukon Government Lawyers to protect them from the public accountability?
I don't like this. I don't like our government. I don't like the looks of the Yukons future. I don't see things getting better.
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Nancy on Apr 20, 2013 at 3:58 am
One comment posted on Jan. 16 named two senior officials and attacked their ability to do their jobs.
Minister Cathers sent Yukon lawyers donuts to show his remorse in speaking about the competence of Yukon Lawyers.
Put the web site back up and have the creators of this web site send the two senior government employees some Timmi's
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Anonymous on Apr 19, 2013 at 11:21 am
good post Chuck , however the direct link to the website was omitted, please allow me to share that link
www.whistlebendfiles.com
thanks for looking
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June Jackson on Apr 19, 2013 at 8:16 am
I would encourage everyone in Whitehorse to drive out to the nightmare that is Whistle Bend and see it for yourself. It can't be anything but track housing and a future slum with one house on it. It was not lived in at the time I was there, costing the taxpayer $57,000. a month for that 1 house. It was a warm day and you could smell the sewerage from the lagoon. The lots are teensy. It does however, have a round-about with 50-75 direction signs..we could not figure out how to go there is so much conflicting signage.
Whoever put up that website.. kudos for having the guts to call it as it is.