The Canadian Press
HALIFAX — A former Halifax firefighter facing a libel lawsuit after he criticized the department’s chief and deputy chief on a local weekly newspaper’s website argues he was making a fair comment.
In a statement of defence filed Wednesday, Blair Cromwell’s lawyer says his client was making a fair comment in the ''public interest’’ when he posted comments on the Coast’s website.
Fire Chief Bill Mosher and Deputy Chief Stephen Thurber went to court earlier this year to require the newspaper and Internet service providers to reveal that Cromwell wrote the comments.
The statement of defence says Cromwell criticized the leadership abilities of Mosher and Thurber and suggested they were unprofessional in handling personnel. The statement argues that the two chiefs ''bullied’’ employees.
Mosher and Thurber filed a statement of claim earlier this year, arguing that Cromwell’s comments were libellous.
Both the statements of claim and defence have not been proven in court.
Cromwell, who was dismissed from the fire department, also argues in the statement of claim that he and other black firefighters were subjected to unfair treatment by management after they launched a human rights complaint.
Mosher has said that many of the allegations in the human rights case don’t accurately represent what has happened in the department in its efforts to eliminate racism.
A spokesman for the fire department declined comment, saying the lawsuit is a private matter.
The statement of defence asks the judge to award Cromwell legal costs.
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