A Cranbrook judge has found Columbia River–Revelstoke NDP candidate Gerry Taft guilty of defamation and ordered him to pay $75,000 in damages.
Devin Kazakoff sued for defamation after Taft posted negative remarks directed at Kazakoff in the online comment section of a story published by the East Kootenay Online News. The January 13, 2016 story was based on a press release provided by the British Columbia Deer Protection Society. The press release included Kazakoff’s name along with three others as contacts.
In his comments Taft, who is also the mayor of Invermere, called Kazakoff a “convicted felon” who does “not respect the decisions of democratically elected local governments.”
Invermere had implemented a deer cull program at the time and was one of three communities in B.C. to receive government funding to do so. Taft’s comments made reference to a 2014 incident that saw Kazakoff and another individual charged with mischief for cutting deer traps. Kazakoff, an animal rights activist and opponent of the deer cull, pleaded guilty and was conditionally discharged.
The conditional discharge means Kazakoff didn’t get a criminal record, and is not a convicted felon.
In his decision, Justice Gordon Weatherill found that Taft had maliciously defamed Kazakoff.
Taft said in a statement that he had offered an apology to Kazakoff earlier.
“I am disappointed by the judgment and disagree with much of it. I will be consulting my lawyer about filing an appeal,” said Taft. “For now, I am focused on the election campaign and the issues that matter to the people of Columbia River Revelstoke.”
In an email to the Mountaineer Liberal MLA candidate Doug Clovechok said the citizens of the Columbia River Revelstoke deserve to be represented by someone with integrity.
“The people of Columbia River Revelstoke deserve an MLA with the highest integrity, someone they can trust,” said Clovechok.
Weatherill stated in his decision that “in recent years, East Kootenay communities, including Invermere and Cranbrook, have experienced an influx of deer into their urban areas, creating a serious nuisance. As the plaintiff in his written legal argument states, “[t]here is wide agreement that something has to be done about the problem of urban deer …”.
Weatherill’s decision further states that while Kazakoff is opposed to culling urban deer using net traps and bolt guns, he does support reducing the deer population using humane methods.
Kazakoff said in a media statement that the circumstances surrounding the lawsuit have been difficult for him.
“While I am obviously pleased to have had my reputation vindicated by such an award and by the court’s thorough reasons for judgment, I am also pleased this is behind me now,” he said.
Read Justice Weatherill’s Reasons for Judgment here.
What did you think of this story?
Your feedback after we publish a story helps ensure we're always improving our reporting to better serve you
