Finance minister threatens to sue Patrick Brown

TORONTO — Finance Minister Vic Fedeli is escalating his legal fight against allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” in a tell-all memoir by former Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown.

A lawyer for Fedeli has served Brown and his publisher with a letter signalling a notice of intent to sue and demanding a retraction of the passage in the 312-page book Takedown: The Attempted Political Assassination of Patrick Brown. A statement of claim has not been filed.

“From a legal point of view, having reviewed the letter, we believe there’s no basis” for the demand, Dean Baxendale of Optimum Publishing International said Wednesday.

Both he and Brown were served the letters last month, with Brown getting his at the Scarborough launch of his book at an Indigo store near Kennedy Rd. and Hwy. 401 five days before Christmas, sources said. The

Star has not seen the letter and Fedeli’s office has declined requests for comment.

Brown was elected mayor of Brampton in November, shortly before the book came out. In it, he wrote Fedeli was “accused … of inappropriate behaviour” by a female staffer who chose not to pursue a complaint while the PCs were in opposition prior to last June’s provincial election that brought Premier Doug Ford to power.

“I understand that soon after Fedeli became interim party leader, the woman was let go, but kept on the legislative payroll,” Brown added.

The Star has not been able to confirm the allegation made by Brown.

“I did receive a lawyer’s letter requesting my publisher remove the reference in ‘Take Down’ which mentions a sexual misconduct complaint was made against Vic Fedeli which is perplexing as the CBC has already independently verified that a complaint was indeed made,” Brown said in a statement on Wednesday.

Baxendale noted the CBC story appeared Nov. 14 and added: “we state nothing more and nothing less in the book. We are therefore surprised that the lawyer for the finance minister would ask us to retract it.”

Fedeli’s office has not responded to repeated requests for comment, but the finance minister from North Bay said Nov. 15 — on the eve of his fall economic statement on government finances — that “these accusations from Patrick Brown are categorically false and without any merit.” He warned he had retained counsel.

Fedeli was interim leader after Brown’s departure, once famously saying he was rooting out “rot” in the party,

Brown was forced out as PC leader last January after CTV reported allegations of a sex scandal involving two women. He is now suing the network, which stands by its reporting, for $8 million.