“You have refused to\u00a0retract or apologize for those defamatory statements, and have made further defamatory statements about Premier Wynne,” said\u00a0the letter to Brown from lawyer Jack Siegel.<\/p>\n
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“Accordingly, a legal action will now be commenced against you for defamation,” said Siegel in the letter.<\/p>\n
The letter is dated Thursday and was provided to the news media on Friday by Wynne’s\u00a0press secretary.<\/p>\n
Brown has yet to issue a response to the libel notice. “We received the notice after the media did, so we need time to review,” said Brown’s press secretary Nicholas Bergamini in an email to CBC Toronto.<\/p>\n
Brown made the original comments in response to a question from CBC Queen’s Park reporter Mike Crawley during a scrum at the Ontario Legislature on Sept.\u00a012.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Kathleen](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.4287180.1508528229!\/fileImage\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/original_620\/kathleen-wynne.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOntario Premier Kathleen Wynne was called by the Crown as a witness in the trial of bribery allegations during the 2015 Sudbury byelection. (Yvon Theriault\/Radio-Canada\/CBC)<\/p>\n
“The fact that the police have been brought in just shows how serious it is,” said Brown at the time.<\/p>\n
“So I hope that the premier will give us answers. We’re not getting them in the legislature, maybe when she stands trial. That in itself is astonishing, that we’ve got a sitting premier sitting in trial and answering questions about these allegations of bribery.”<\/p>\n
Provincial law required Wynne’s\u00a0lawyers to\u00a0issue a libel notice within six weeks of the comments, making the deadline next Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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“The express meaning of these statements is that Premier\u00a0Wynne\u00a0was on trial for bribery, which was not the case,” said the letter. “Your stubborn refusal to retract your defamatory statements has exposed you to an award of aggravated and punitive damages.”<\/p>\n
The lawyer warns Brown to preserve all relevant documents related to the accusations in the case, including emails and recordings.<\/p>\n
Wynne testified<\/a>\u00a0last month in Sudbury in the bribery trial<\/a> of her former deputy chief of staff Pat Sorbara and local Liberal organizer Gerry Lougheed, Jr.\u00a0<\/p>\n
- Top 10 moments (so far) in Sudbury byelection\u00a0trial\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Wynne<\/span>\u00a0threatens legal action after ‘defamatory’ Brown statement<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n