Government Spends $213,500 to Avoid Paying $25,000 for Defamation

Minister of Veterans Affairs Seamus O'Regan rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018.The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

A veteran’s advocate won a small victory against the legal team for former Veteran Affairs minister Seamus O’Regan, who government lawyers defended at a cost of $213,500, according to documents tabled in the Senate.

On May 11, 2018 Sean Bruyea, a veteran’s advocate, filed a lawsuit against the then-Minister of Veterans Affairs over an op-ed the minister wrote that was published in The Hill Times.