Photo by Whitehorse Star
Pictured Above: LIARD MCMILLAN
Summer protest results in defamation suit
The chief of the Liard First Nation and one of its economic officials are suing an organizer of a July protest, claiming she defamed their character.
The chief of the Liard First Nation and one of its economic officials are suing an organizer of a July protest, claiming she defamed their character.
Lawyers for Chief Liard McMillan and economic development officer Alex Morrison filed the lawsuit in Yukon Supreme Court this week against Watson Lake resident Vianna Abou.
In early July, protesters gathered outside the band office in Watson Lake.
They called for the long-time chief's resignation and demanded an earlier general assembly be called within Watson Lake.
They questioned the leadership's transparency, particularly regarding the First Nation's finances.
Abou was the primary spokesperson for the protesters.
The lawsuit points to placards posted at the protest and statements given that day, as well as interviews with the media and a July letter to the editor published in the Star.
It calls these things "part of a campaign of vilification made up of false, malicious, defamatory imputations that have damaged the reputation of the plaintiffs.”
The court documents claim the men have demanded a retraction and apology from Abou but have not received one.
Her words "have damaged the business reputation of the plaintiffs,” the lawsuit says, adding that the statements were newsworthy and led to widespread publication.
Though no specific dollar amount is listed as to how much the men are seeking in compensation, the lawsuit asks for both aggravated and punitive damages.
The men are claiming Abou knew the things she said were false and that her dominant purpose was to "injure the reputation of the plaintiffs because of spite or animosity.”
They are asking a judge to order an injunction which would keep Abou from repeating what she has said or making similar statements in the future.
Abou has yet to file any documents in her defence.
McMillan has denied all of the protesters' claims and has said he will not step down.
He has publicly stated this will be his last term as chief.
The next election can be called no later than next November.
The suit is scheduled for a case management conference in October.
This is not the first time McMillan has been involved in a defamation lawsuit.
In 2009, a Yukon Supreme Court justice ruled that comments the chief made about a former Watson Lake Secondary School principal in 2006 were untrue and disrespectful, but not enough for the school official to win a defamation suit.
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Comments (8)
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Michael Tillmann on Sep 21, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Oh, and one clarification... a statement is only defamatory (and therefore illegal) if it is harmful to another person's reputation and it is untrue. The law doesn't prohibit insulting or harmful statements that are proven to be true.
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Michael Tillmann on Sep 21, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Michael Tully:
Libel is a type of defamation.
Defamation is the broad category, including any kind of statement that is made that harms another person's reputation.
Libel is the subcategory of defamation that handles statements that are written down or recorded.
If the statement was not written down or recorded in some way, it is called slander.
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jack Malone on Sep 18, 2012 at 5:15 am
Freedom of expression does not mean that people can make accusations and say whatever they want without any consequence. People need to be accountable and responsible for what they say and write.
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Michael Tully on Sep 17, 2012 at 11:36 am
People seem to really misuse legal terms. It's libel, not defamation.
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northone on Sep 16, 2012 at 12:56 pm
I'm not sure what access to information provisions LFN members have, but somebody should find out how much Chief and Council have spent on legal fees over the past four or so years, and determine if the expenditure was worth it or not.
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Jaymanc on Sep 16, 2012 at 12:39 am
wonder how he'll be paying for the law suit?
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Rosa on Sep 14, 2012 at 8:12 pm
Wow, how can this leader sue his own member for standing up for her freedom of rights.. Whatever happen to freedom of speech...sounds like he ruined his own reputation from previous actions... man up in do what your lfn ask for, resign, walk away..own up to your bad leadership, give members a chance..
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flyingfur on Sep 12, 2012 at 7:29 am
Unfortunately my experience has been that this kind of experience is not unique to the Liard First Nation in the Yukon. Sad and disheartening.