{"id":104727,"date":"2026-05-14T12:01:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=104727"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:01:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:01:57","slug":"defamation-lawsuit-filed-by-quesnel-mayors-wife-dismissed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/defamation-lawsuit-filed-by-quesnel-mayors-wife-dismissed\/","title":{"rendered":"Defamation lawsuit filed by Quesnel mayor\u2019s wife dismissed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen A defamation lawsuit filed by the wife of Quesnel Mayor Ron Paull against the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) has been dismissed by BC Supreme Court. \u201cI find that this is a case in which the public interest in preserving free debate and the UBCIC\u2019s right to express its views as it did outweighs the harm, if any, that Ms. (Pat) Morton may have incurred,\u201d Justice Jasmin Ahmad ruled on April 30. Morton sued the UBCIC last May, citing an April 2, 2024 complaint letter and the events that followed. The UBCIC had objected to former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson speaking at a Quesnel city council meeting. Widdowson is a contributor to Grave Error: How the Media&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F05%2F14%2Fdefamation-lawsuit-filed-by-quesnel-mayors-wife-dismissed%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen A defamation lawsuit filed by the wife of Quesnel Mayor Ron Paull against the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) has been dismissed by BC Supreme Court. \u201cI find that this is a case in which the public interest in preserving free debate and the UBCIC\u2019s right to express its views as it did outweighs the harm, if any, that Ms. (Pat) Morton may have incurred,\u201d Justice Jasmin Ahmad ruled on April 30. Morton sued the UBCIC last May, citing an April 2, 2024 complaint letter and the events that followed. The UBCIC had objected to former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson speaking at a Quesnel city council meeting. Widdowson is a contributor to Grave Error: How the Media... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F05%2F14%2Fdefamation-lawsuit-filed-by-quesnel-mayors-wife-dismissed%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Defamation lawsuit filed by Quesnel mayor\u2019s wife dismissed - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/14\/defamation-lawsuit-filed-by-quesnel-mayors-wife-dismissed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defamation lawsuit filed by Quesnel mayor\u2019s wife dismissed - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen A defamation lawsuit filed by the wife of Quesnel Mayor Ron Paull against the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) has been dismissed by BC Supreme Court. \u201cI find that this is a case in which the public interest in preserving free debate and the UBCIC\u2019s right to express its views as it did outweighs the harm, if any, that Ms. (Pat) Morton may have incurred,\u201d Justice Jasmin Ahmad ruled on April 30. Morton sued the UBCIC last May, citing an April 2, 2024 complaint letter and the events that followed. The UBCIC had objected to former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson speaking at a Quesnel city council meeting. 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