The Canadian Press - Broadcast Wire
HALIFAX, Canada — The Halifax fire department’s two top officials have filed a defamation lawsuit against seven people, including two firefighters, over comments that were made anonymously on a local weekly newspaper’s website.
Fire Chief Bill Mosher and Deputy Chief Stephen Thurber say in court documents filed today in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia that the comments made on the website of The Coast are libellous and they are seeking unspecified damages.
The comments came after a series of articles about the fire department, including an article about black firefighters filing a human rights complaint against the department.
Two of the people named in the statement of claim are current employees of the department, two are former employees and three are people whose background isn’t mentioned.
The statement contains allegations not proven in court, and no statement of defence has been filed.
Blair Cromwell, a black firefighter who has launched a human rights complaint against the department, is one of the defendants named in the lawsuit.
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