Watson Lake business owner sues former legislature Speaker

A prominent Watson Lake businessman who holds one of the territory’s most powerful appointment positions is suing a retired man for defamation because of an e-mail sent to local media and politicians.

A prominent Watson Lake businessman who holds one of the territory’s most powerful appointment positions is suing a retired man for defamation because of an e-mail sent to local media and politicians.

Pat Irvin is the interim chair of the Yukon Energy Corp. board of directors, sits on the Yukon Development Corp. board, and, along with Yukon Party cabinet minister Archie Lang, is co-owner of Watson Lake’s only grocery store.

Don Taylor is a retiree and self-appointed “citizen’s advocate.” He sat as Speaker of the Yukon legislature from 1974 to 1985.

Taylor has been waging a war of words against Premier Dennis Fentie, Lang, Irvin and the Yukon Party for some time now, using letters to the editor, mail-outs and his blog to criticize the government.

He has been a vocal critic of Lang’s and Irvin’s business dealings in the B.C.-Yukon border town, especially the 2007 sale of three of their Watson Lake hotels to the Liard First Nation.

The first nation used federal funds, approved by the Yukon government, to buy the properties from Lang and Irvin with the stated intent to turn them into affordable housing for its members.

More than two years later, the buildings remain unused, their doors locked, their windows boarded.

Taylor has also accused Irvin and Lang of discouraging potential competitors from coming into the Watson Lake retail market. 

But it is not these professional and political criticisms that have landed Taylor in hot water; rather, it is the contents of an e-mail sent Jan. 13 to 22 inboxes around the territory, including those of the Whitehorse Star, the Yukon News, Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell, the NDP caucus and Yukon MP Larry Bagnell. In it, Taylor casts aspersions on Irvin.

According to Irvin’s statement of claim, filed last week in Yukon Supreme Court, Taylor “falsely and recklessly wrote and published (the) statement” knowing it would harm Irvin’s reputation.

In the documents, Irvin claims he “has been seriously injured in his character and reputation in the community and has been held up to public scandal and embarrassment.”

He also claims Taylor “had admitted in writing that the allegations made by him were based on hearsay and he could not say that the information was true.”

The allegation was based on widely known rumours around town, Taylor told the Star Monday. He said he plans to defend himself when the matter comes to court.

“I couldn’t afford a lawyer and I’m not sure I could get one in Whitehorse,” Taylor said. “... They all do work in the government at one point or another, so everyone has a conflict of interest.”

Furthermore, said Taylor, he has no money to give Irvin should he lose.

He pointed out that he did apologize after being contacted by Irvin.

In a letter sent to Irvin’s lawyer following the rejected apology, Taylor wrote: “In what I believed at the time to be a personal confidential e-mail asking for a media investigation into incidents of local patronage provided by government administration, and affecting our community, I unwittingly made an unintended mistake.

Certainly without malice or forethought in doing so I unfortunately made a brief reference to a publicly circulating rumour involving Mr. Irvin.

“In addition to two apologies, I have personally and publicly expressed my sincerest regrets to Mr. Irvin for doing so.”

Taylor’s apology is also noted in the documents filed by Irvin’s lawyer; it was not, however, an “effective apology,” according to the statement of claim.

Irvin is suing Taylor for general and aggravated damages, as well as his legal costs.