A Yukon government employee had to go all the way to Yukon Supreme Court to obtain a copy of a letter she claims defamed her.

Sheila Branigan wanted a copy of a letter she claims ruined her relationship with her employer.

The letter, written by Joni MacKinnon on March 15, 2003, accused Branigan of spreading rumours about MacKinnon throughout the Yukon Department of Health and Social Services.

The four-page letter was submitted to the manager of the department's youth services branch, the court heard on Dec. 2.

'Ms. MacKinnon wrote her letter to the department on a completely unsolicited basis,' said Justice Leigh Gower. 'She felt called upon to defend herself.

'However, in doing so, she clearly made suggestions, insinuations and allegations reflecting adversely upon Ms. Branigan's character.'

He said while hindsight is always 20/20, MacKinnon did not have to take that extra step in her own defence.

'It is one thing for Ms. MacKinnon to have defended her own good character,' said Gower. 'It is another for her to have attacked Ms. Branigan as part of that defence.'

Branigan needs a copy of the letter so she can file a work-related grievance, even though when she filed a request for the letter, she did not know its exact contents.

She could only guess at its substance from what was later insinuated to her.

The Department of Health and Social Services initially refused Branigan a copy of the letter. It did so despite a recommendation from Hank Moorlag, the territory's Information and Privacy Commissioner, to do so.

That left Branigan no choice but to appeal the department's decision in Yukon Supreme Court.

Upon hearing the evidence, Gower ruled in Branigan's favour.

She is now permitted to view the parts of the letter that refer directly to her concerns.

'Ms. MacKinnon's views and opinions about Ms. Branigan are the personal information of Ms. Branigan and not Ms. MacKinnon,' said Gower.

Branigan will not be allowed to see the parts of the letter that disclose MacKinnon's employment information.

MacKinnon told the court she did not want Branigan to know any of the letter's contents as she firmly believed that Branigan holds 'unwarranted and unfounded personal animosity towards' her and that it would cause MacKinnon to suffer undue emotional stress and trauma.

Gower replied to her fears by saying: 'If you are going to to jump into the pool, you should expect to get wet.'

MacKinnon tried to prove her fears were valid by presenting the court with two letters of reference, written in October. One was from Pastor Ron Ritchie of the Yukon Bible Fellowship Four Square Church, while the other was from Rev. Richard Turner.

Ritchie wrote:

'Joni without question has suffered from Sheila Branigan's unacceptable, hurtful behaviour. It has been for her a continuous, unnerving drain both emotionally and financially.

Turner wrote:

'I have been aware of Sheila Branigan's harassments over these few years.... For whatever reason, Ms. Branigan does not want to see Joni succeed and appears to be opposing her on all fronts. I believe that this is malicious and vindictive.'

Gower said he was surprised by the readiness of the two clergymen to side with MacKinnon without hearing Branigan's side of the story.

'If they are aware of Ms. Branigan's position, they certainly made no reference to it in their letters,' said Gower. 'Thus their statements cause me to be reasonably apprehensive that they are biased in Ms. MacKinnon's favour.'

Gower said there is no proof that MacKinnon's safety was threatened by the disclosure of the letter.

However, now that Branigan has been permitted to receive a copy of the letter, she will be seeking legal advice about suing MacKinnon for possible defamation of character.