| Former finance minister to testify at Canada Line trial, judge rules
Former finance minister Carole Taylor will be required to testify at the civil trial of a former small business owner on Cambie Street suing for damages arising from construction of the Canada Line, a judge ruled today.
A government lawyer had applied to have Taylor, who resigned from her seat in the B.C. legislature in December, excluded from appearing as an “adverse” witness for businesswoman Susan Heyes.
Rob McDonell argued that parliamentary privilege applies to Taylor and she should be granted immunity from testifying along with Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon, who is also being sought as an adverse witness.
He told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield that Taylor didn’t wish to appear in court but would do so if directed by the court.
Heyes’ lawyer, Cameron Ward, said that the legislature, while in session, is not sitting this week and therefore privilege does not apply for either Taylor or Falcon.
He argued that Taylor had relevant evidence to give about the plaintiff’s claim that she and the B.C. Liberal government engaged in “high-handed, arrogant and outrageous” conduct in refusing to provide compensation to businesses on Cambie Street being impacted by the construction.
The judge, noting that the government had failed to provide an affidavit giving conclusive arguments compelling Taylor to attend, dismissed the application regarding Taylor.
But concerning Falcon, he asked for further submissions on just what exactly constitutes a session of the legislature and whether immunity applies when the legislature is not sitting.
He adjourned the application regarding Falcon until Tuesday morning, when he is expected to make a ruling on the issue.
The three-week trial is expected to open Wednesday morning and Taylor is likely to testify on that day along with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and an official in the city engineer’s office.
Heyes, who ran a maternity wear store on Cambie Street for 10 years, has claimed she lost many thousands of dollars in business and had to twice re-mortgage her home after a deep trench was dug outside her store. She alleges that the defendants’ actions, including misrepresentation and private nuisance, caused her business the losses. She’s seeking general, special, aggravated, exemplary and punitive damages, interest and costs.
The defendants include the City of Vancouver and the B.C. and Canadian governments.
© Copyright (c) The Province
| 
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
The banners on the left side and below do not show for registered users!
