The Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the B.C. NDP both say taxpayers should not be made to foot the legal bill for the defamation lawsuit deputy minister Athana Mentzelopoulos has launched against education critic Rob Fleming.
Under the government’s indemnity policy, Mentzelopoulos will have her legal costs fully covered by B.C. taxpayers, something that doesn’t sit well with Jordan Bateman, the B.C. director of the taxpayers federation.
While acknowledging there is no wrongdoing — eligibility for coverage on a defamation action is based on specific criteria — Bateman believes such “proactive” lawsuits should be covered by the employee, not the taxpayer.
“This sends the message to the rest of the civil service that if they feel they are being defamed or what not, they can apply and get government to pay their bills on those suits,” he said. “That is not a good thing. We don’t want a public service where people are proactively suing citizens, politicians or other groups.”
Mentzelopoulos, the deputy minister of jobs, tourism and skills training, filed a defamation lawsuit last month. In it, she claimed that a fundraising email sent by Fleming — MLA for Victoria-Swan Lake — to party members in July was a direct attempt to cause her harm and suggest she was the beneficiary of “cronyism and corruption.” In addition to mentioning Mentzelopoulos was a past bridesmaid to Premier Christy Clark, the email alleged she was the recipient of a hefty pay raise.
In a statement of defence filed this week, Fleming claimed he was just fulfilling his duties as an Opposition critic, offering fair comment and communicating matters of public interest. His legal bills are being paid for by the B.C. NDP, party leader John Horgan said in a Friday statement.
“One of the premier’s oldest friends took offence at something an elected member of the legislature said about her. She decided to sue him. And now Christy Clark is going to let taxpayers foot the bill for her friend. That is unacceptable,” the statement reads. “Taxpayers will not foot the bill for Rob Fleming’s defence and they certainly should not pay for the legal action launched by Ms. Mentzelopoulos.”
