The BC Small Claims Court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit Kelowna RCMP Const. Conrad Erbes initiated against independent journalist Marcel Irnie. .“The claim is dismissed on the basis that as a Provincial Court Judge, there is no jurisdiction to hear the case pursuant to Section 3(2) of the Small Claims Act,” said BC Small Claims Court Justice of the Peace Andrew Tam in a ruling. .No penalties were issued against Erbes. .Erbes sued Irnie in 2022 after he was upset of a video of an argument between them being posted to social media. .He filed a lawsuit against him for $35,000 in the BC Small Claims Court. .Irnie posted the videos of the interaction between the two of them, who was trying to get him to move his RV from in front of Kelowna City Hall after it had been parked there for most of the day. This was after a large freedom rally in Stuart Park..Irnie said Erbes “ought to have known that you can’t sue somebody for libel and slander in small claims provincial court.” .When Erbes knocked on his door after a freedom rally, he asked for his identification. He responded by saying he did not need to provide ID. .In that case, Erbes said his RV would be towed and receive a traffic ticket. Irnie filmed the interaction and uploaded it to YouTube to ensure he had evidence of it. .On the first court date in December, Erbes served Irnie with a notice of libel. Irnie accused him of doing this “to intimidate me, to threaten me, as the witness and as the defendant to throw me off my game.” .Erbes asked him how he was going to plead prior to the hearing, and he said not guilty. This prompted him to be served with another traffic ticket. .When they got to court on Wednesday, Tam asked Erbes if he understood he did not have jurisdiction to hear this matter. While he was familiar with that, he said he hoped the case could be settled. .Tam asked Irnie if he had any comment, and he said he had no comment. Therefore, the case was dismissed. .He was able to move his first ticket to the Provincial Court of BC to have his Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms violations heard because he was not provided with disclosure. A few days before court, the Crown attorney stayed the proceedings because of complications with disclosure. .With his second ticket, Erbes waited until June to hand in his copy to the ticket centre. His next hearing date for this case is October 30. .To prevent similar situations from happening to other people, Irnie filed a complaint against him with the Kelowna RCMP and wants him fired. However, RCMP said that is unlikely to happen, as the most likely outcome is retraining. .Irnie concluded by saying he did not want to back down. .“You have to stand up for public interest,” he said. .“I have to stand up for all independent journalists because we can’t be silenced.” .Erbes could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
