Animal rights activist upholds lawsuit against NDP candidate

A defamation lawsuit filed by an Invermere animal rights activist against the region’s NDP candidate for the upcoming provincial election is ongoing, despite part of the lawsuit being thrown out.

On Thursday, activist Devin Kazakoff confirmed the lawsuit remains active despite Tuesday’s Supreme Court of British Columbia ruling that some sections of the lawsuit be removed.

“I can’t disclose any of the details, but it is ongoing,” said Kazakoff, a small-business owner, animalrights activist and one of seven directors of the British Columbia Deer Protection Society.

At issue in the suit are online comments made by former Invermere mayor and NDP candidate Gerry Taft.

On Jan. 13, Taft posted online that Kazakoff “was convicted of tampering with and destroying deer traps in Kimberley. I wouldn’t be so quick to believe convicted felons who have extreme positions on animal rights issues ...”

Kazakoff, who received a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to destroying deer traps in Kimberley, argued the discharge was not a criminal conviction and that Taft was incorrect in saying he was a felon.

After a letter from Kazakoff’s lawyer, Taft posted the following online on Feb. 4, 2016.

“After receiving a letter from a lawyer representing Mr. Kazakoff, a legal distinction has come to my attention and I would like to share that this comment was not true and I wish to retract it ... He was not convicted of a crime and does not have a criminal record, and is not a felon.”

Taft, the NDP nominee for Columbia River-Revelstoke, and his lawyer did not want to comment.