‘We as a province need to put this ugly chapter behind us’
Ontario premier, Opposition leader in standoff over comments made about Wynne
Ontario’s premier and Opposition leader are sticking to their guns in a dispute that could lead to legal action.
Premier Kathleen Wynne’s lawyers wrote a letter to Patrick Brown on Wednesday asking that he withdraw comments he made about her or face a defamation lawsuit.
In a statement released early Thursday morning, the Progressive Conservative leader said he is ignoring the premier’s request and her “baseless” warning about legal consequences.
When asked whether she would proceed with a lawsuit, Wynne — who was in Washington, D.C., Thursday — said her letter “stands” and “speaks for itself.”
She says her lawyers are discussing the next steps.
One of her lawyers, Jack Siegel, told a Toronto radio station that Brown’s response is “disappointing.”
“It would be rather nice, I would think, if Mr. Brown would simply acknowledge ... it was a slip of the tongue and we could be done with this,” he told Newstalk1010.
At issue are comments Brown made about the premier’s role in a Liberal bribery trial.
The letter sent to Brown said he told reporters Tuesday that Wynne was standing trial, when in fact she is not on trial or even under investigation, but is offering voluntary testimony.
It was made public moments before Wynne took the witness stand at the trial in Sudbury, Ont., where her former deputy chief of staff and a local Liberal are facing
bribery charges under the Election Act.
Brown’s office had previously suggested he misspoke while talking to reporters and pointed out that he immediately tried to clarify his comments. But Brown appeared to stand by his words.
“Yesterday was a sad day for Ontario,” he said.
“No one, whatever their political view, wants to see the premier of our province debased and humiliated. Regrettably Kathleen
Wynne compounded this sorry spectacle with baseless legal threats against me; threats that will be ignored,” Brown said.
“We as a province need to put this ugly chapter behind us and move on.”
This is the second time in a week that the Liberal government has threatened legal action over remarks made by a Progressive Conservative member of the provincial legislature about the Sudbury trial.