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Mills files notice of libel against CanWest

Last Updated: Thursday, June 27, 2002 | 1:04 AM ET

CBC News
Fired Ottawa Citizen publisher Russell Mills has accused his former employers of attacking his reputation, his lawyers announced on Wednesday.

Notices of libel were sent to CanWest Global Communications Corp., Global Television Centre Ltd., Leonard Asper, Peter Kent, The National Post, Southam Publications Inc., and the Ottawa Citizen.

The law firm of Nelligan O'Brien Payne LLP said the libel allegations stem from interviews given by Leonard Asper that appeared on Global Television and in the Post and Citizen.

(File photo)Russell Mills
(File photo)Russell Mills

The notice against the Citizen also accuses the paper of inaccurate and misleading coverage the day after he was fired.

Mills was fired by CanWest Global Communications Corp. as publisher of the Citizen on June 16, for what he said was an editorial and analysis piece that were critical of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

After the firing created an uproar across the country, Asper gave a series of interviews in which he defended the firing. The CanWest president and CEO said the editorial was only the final straw in a line of problems.

A respected journalist for three decades, Mills alleges the libel occurred during those interviews.

"I cannot let that go by without defending myself," Mills said in a statement released by his lawyers.

A notice of libel is the first step toward formal legal proceedings. Mills's lawyers said they anticipate going ahead to seek damages for wrongful dismissal and libel.

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