A defamation lawsuit related to an NDP allegation in 2016 was dismissed after the former government and other parties involved settled the case..The Western Standard has learned from a Calgary lawyer that the legal fees paid by taxpayers for the case totalled $435,000..The Alberta NDP claimed the $2-billion in power purchase agreement (PPA) losses borne by Alberta electricity consumers were caused by an Enron “secret backroom deal” made in 2000 to alter an important clause in the PPAs..“My defamation case was about setting the record straight that I was not involved in a PPA secret backroom deal in 2000,” said Calgary lawyer, Robert Hemstock, who sued the former Alberta government.."Albertans also paid $435,000 in legal fees to defend the defamation case I brought against Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman, Premier Notley’s Communications Director Cheryl Oates, and the Government of Alberta.".Hemstock's claim was brought to seek to hold the NDP government accountable for trying to deflect blame for its own decisions to bring forward carbon tax increases that enabled all PPA Buyers to terminate their PPAs and transfer the $2 billion in future PPA unprofitability to Alberta electricity consumers..“Our government believes regular Albertans shouldn’t be on the hook for secret backroom deals,” said NDP MLA Sarah Hoffman on July 25, 2016, who noted companies have made an estimated $10 billion in profits from the PPAs..Two weeks into a media campaign, they identified Hemstock, a lawyer for Enron Canada in 2000, as having a role in the “secret backroom deal.".To address this, in July 2018 Hemstock sued the defendants — Hoffman, Oates, and the government of Alberta — for defamation relating to this allegation.."The story really isn't about me. It's about what happens when a government makes a mistake. And then they use their power as government like a David and Goliath circumstance," Hemstock said.."They use their power of government to communicate messages that are not true. And it's very unfortunate. It's very unfortunate and not what Albertans would expect.".In November 2022, Hemstock and the three defendants reached a settlement which was satisfactory to all parties..It is unclear how much money Hemstock was paid.."I'm not allowed to speak to you about the terms of the settlement other than to say that all departments are satisfied with the settlements," Hemstock said..The Alberta NDP has refused to comment on the case several times.
