Brampton Mayor and former finance minister settle over defamation allegations

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Published March 13, 2020 at 3:22 pm

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has settled out of court with a former Ontario finance minister over comments he made in an autobiography published in 2018 after his downfall from provincial politics.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has settled out of court with a former Ontario finance minister over comments he made in an autobiography published in 2018 after his downfall from provincial politics.

In Takedown: The Attempted Political Assassination of Patrick Brown, the former Ontario PC leader makes statements regarding a sexual misconduct complaint allegedly made against Vic Fedeli. 

Fedeli’s lawyer then threatened legal action, citing libel from statements in the book and asked that they be removed. In a statement to inbrampton.com, Brown calls the request “perplexing” and claims that the sexual misconduct complaint had already been verified. 

“I did receive a lawyers letter requesting my publisher remove the reference in ‘Take Down’ which mentions a sexual misconduct complaint was made against Vic Fedeli,” Brown said, “which is perplexing as the CBC has already independently verified that a complaint was indeed made.” 

But now, in a subsequent statement posted on the website of the publishing company for the book, Optimum Publishing, the mayor has agreed to put the issue behind them. 

“In my book Takedown, and thereafter, I made statements about a complaint of inappropriate conduct made against Vic Fedeli by a former member of my staff when I was leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.”

“As I noted in Takedown, I did not believe that allegation to be in keeping with Vic Fedeli’s character. In publishing Takedown and in statements I made thereafter about this allegation, I did not, and did not intend to suggest or imply that Vic Fedeli had in fact engaged in any such conduct or that he had in fact acted in any way inappropriately.”

“To Vic Fedeli and his family: I regret if anyone understood me to be saying the opposite and I apologize for any misunderstanding. I consider this an end to the matter and will not be making any further statements or comment about it.”

Fedeli has been a Conservative MPP since 2011 representing the northern Ontario riding of Nipissing. He took over as interim PC party leader after Brown stepped down in January 2018 over Brown’s own sexual misconduct allegations.

After Doug Ford led the Tories to power in the election that year, Fedeli was appointed Finance Minister, but was shuffled out from that position a year after delivering one budget that was universally deriled. He is now Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

The book was published several weeks after Brown was elected Brampton’s mayor on October 22, 2018.

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