Woodstock apologizes; lawsuit goes away

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This article was published 24/10/2022 (695 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayoral candidate Don Woodstock has formally apologized for comments he made about a candidate’s brother, which triggered a defamation lawsuit.

As a result, the lawsuit will not move forward.

“There’s no way a mayor of the city can have any legal issues hanging over their head. As a result of that, I have decided to settle this matter,” said Woodstock on Tuesday.

Despite trailing in the polls, the candidate said he believes he has a good chance of winning Wednesday’s municipal election.

Woodstock was accused of damaging the reputations of John Motkaluk, Bayview Construction Ltd., Rocky Road Recycling and others related to the companies following comments he made during a Sept. 7 mayoral forum.

John Motkaluk is one of the founders of Bayview, which Woodstock mentioned while responding to a question about recycling crushed rock to fill and pave roads.

“The defendant then said that the only reason why these funds of some tens of millions of dollars being misspent was because of ‘mean people like Jenny’s brother,’” the lawsuit states.

On Tuesday, Woodstock apologized for “the misunderstanding that my statements may have caused.”

“My intent was not to criticize Bayview Construction or Rocky Road Recycling or to level personal criticism against Jennifer Motkaluk’s brother… It is obvious I did not express myself properly, and for that, I sincerely and unreservedly apologize,” Woodstock’s official written apology states.

Robert Tapper, the lawyer who represents those who filed the lawsuit, confirmed it will not proceed.

“We were not in this issue for money. We were in this issue because (Woodstock) said things, as he has now acknowledged, (that) were inaccurate and we want(ed) him to withdraw them,” said Tapper.

Woodstock said his goal in making the comments had been to highlight an election promise to have the city crush and recycle its own concrete to make aggregate for roads, which he says could save money.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga