[from the London Free Press, December 9, 1998]
| "This is political hush money,'' NDP MPP Marion
Boyd (London Centre) "They (Tories) have simply tried to dumb down this issue and make it go away before they call an election, that's all this is about,'' Boyd said. |
By CHRISTINA BLIZZARD, Sun Media Queen's Park Bureau TORONTO
-- The Conservative government is using taxpayers' cash to avoid an embarrassing
sexual harassment lawsuit against former Speaker Al McLean prior to an election, critics
claimed yesterday. "This is political hush money,'' NDP MPP Marion Boyd (London Centre) said after a meeting of the legislature's powerful internal board of economy yesterday. "They (Tories) have simply tried to dumb down this issue and make it go away before they call an election, that's all this is about,'' Boyd said. McLean was hit with a wrongful dismissal suit in 1996 by former employee Sandi Thompson, who claimed she had been sexually harassed and dumped from her job. McLean has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence. Speaker Chris Stockwell, who chairs the board, says he opposes the settlement, which is now a done deal. Thompson will receive $250,000 in legal costs and damages. McLean is to get $130,000 to cover his lawyers' bills. "I have never seen a settlement where you pay everybody,'' Stockwell said. "Our legal opinion, from three law firms, was the same,'' he said. Those lawyers urged the board not to sign the deal. "We can't pay everyone's legal fees,'' Stockwell said, adding that as far as taxpayers are concerned, it would be better to let the case go to court. "Somebody's right and somebody's wrong, and if it comes to the case that they all want their legal fees paid and one of the people wants damages, then it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers to let this go to court.'' Boyd says she's surprised the wealthy Orillia dairy farmer doesn't want to go to court to clear his name. "None of this has been cross-examined under oath. If Mr. McLean is so sure that he is not guilty about this, in his place, I certainly would have said, 'No way am I going to settle. I want my reputation cleared.' '' Meanwhile, government House leader Norm Sterling said Tories have consulted their own solicitor, although he refused to name the lawyer. "Our object was to finish this in order to save the taxpayers over half a million dollars,'' Sterling said, adding that the legal fees could have been as high as $1 million if it went to court. "We could have been caught paying all the legal fees, plus the damages,'' Sterling said. "No one was proved innocent or guilty in this matter. It's a civil matter and that will never be determined.'' Liberal John Gerretsen agreed with Boyd. "I find it ironic that this is the government that will take people to court over minimal amounts in overpayments in welfare and other things, and here we are throwing out a minimum of $430,000 in a situation where we should not have paid any money at all,'' Gerretsen said. Stockwell said a $1-million wrongful dismissal suit launched by McLean against the legislative assembly was a "non-starter.'' "He didn't have a case. Their (the lawyers') position was he did not have a case,'' Stockwell said. McLean resigned in the wake of the harassment allegations. |
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Copyright © 1998 The London Free Press a division of Sun Media Corporation.
Marion Boyd, MPP London Centre
marionboyd@home.com