A BC Supreme Court Justice has dismissed a defamation case filed by the wife of the Mayor of Quesnel against the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.
Madame Justice Ahmed also awarded costs to the UNBCIC.
The case, filed by Pat Morton, was heard in Quesnel on November 27, 2025 and on January 16, 2026.
The 32-page decision was released on Thursday, April 30th.
The case centered around a letter that the Union of BC Indian Chiefs sent to Quesnel City Council back on April 2, 2024.
The letter was protesting the fact that one of the contributors of the book, Grave Error: How the Media Misled US (and the Truth about Residential Schools), was scheduled to speak at the meeting.
It also objected to the promotion of the book.
‘We are aware that Mayor Paull’s wife, Pat Morton, bought cases of the book and handed them out to her clients from her son’s tax office in Quesnel, in blatant disregard for the impact this would have on residential school survivors and their families.”
Morton said in her filing that the Union of BC Indian Chiefs made false statements because she purchased 13 books over time and on only one occasion did she provide a copy to a client through the tax office.
Madame Justice Ahmed noted however, that “the question is not whether the expression reflects the literal truth, it is whether the statement is substantially true. In other words, is Ms. Morton significantly worse off by the statement than she would have been had the asserted literal truth been published ?”
Justice Ahmed also said the case was not about Ms. Morton’s right to distribute the book, nor was it about her right to express her views about the book’s content.
She stated that it was about whether the public interest in protecting UNBCIC’s right to publicly express its criticism of Ms. Morton for her distribution of the book outweighs any harm Ms. Morton may have incurred as a result of the letter.
“Competing values-the preservation of open debate and the freedom of expression, on one hand, and the protection of reputation, on the other-are at the heart of this case. In order to balance those competing values, British Columbia has enacted the Protection of Public Participation Act, to target actions that disproportionately suppress free expression on matters of public interest.”
Morton argued that by identifying her as the Mayor’s wife, the letter served no public interest purpose and transformed what might have been a political comment into a personal and political attack.
She was claiming for general damages for reputational harm, defamation, emotional distress, and business losses, as well as for special damages elating to loss of professional standing and community trust.
The UNBCIC argued that there was no merit to Ms. Morton’s defamation case, specifically that there are no grounds to believe that it does not have any valid defences.
It raised three, the defences of justification (substantial truth), fair comment, and qualified privilege.
It also argued that regardless of merit, given the minimal harm incurred by Ms. Morton, if any, the defamation claim disproportionately suppresses its free expression on this matter on which there is significant public interest and debate.
Justice Ahmed also noted that the Union of BC Indian Chiefs letter meets the level for “qualified privilege” as it was written specifically in response to what it perceived as Council’s promotion of the book, not only by one of the contributor of the book being at the meeting, but also by Ms. Morton’s distribution of the book and the fact that she was the Mayor’s wife.
The Justice added that the UNBCIC has long been engaged in, among other things, advocacy and public education on behalf of its First Nations and Indigenous peoples and that part of that advocacy has been challenging residential school denialism.
She also ruled that the letter wasn’t shared beyond the mayor and council who had an interest in the letter, citing section 3 of the Protection of Public Participation Act.
“If an oral or written communication on a matter of public interest, between persons who have a direct interest in the matter, has qualified privilege, that communication has qualified privilege regardless of whether the communication is witnessed or reported by the media or other persons.”
Morton argued that the letter was distributed to recipients other than those to who the letter was addressed.
She said Lhtako Dene Nation and Councillor Roodenburg shared it on their respective Facebook profiles which resulted in public distribution beyond those with a duty to receive it.
Morton also noted that a copy was also sent to former Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson.
Justice Ahmed also ruled that the letter wasn’t motivated by malice.
Morton said she plans to appeal the court’s decision.
– story done by George Henderson, My Cariboo Now
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing pgnews@vistaradio.ca.
