Threat to sue DERA director by Sister Elizabeth Kelliher, President of DERA

I got a telephone call (7:30 p.m. October 20 2009) from the President of DERA advising me that the Board of the Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA) is going to sue me for defamation for sending emails to board members; the auditor; CUPE; paid staff (Kim Kerr); BC Housing; and the BC Law Foundation. Considering I am a director of DERA therefore part of the whole I do not know how DERA is going to pull that off. But then this is what DERA does threaten members/tenants/employees/directors into silence.

My defense to the alledged "defamation" is that none of the alledged plaintiffs are following the rule of law. I am a legally elected director of DERA responsible to the members and the taxpayers of the Province and the alledged plaintiffs all have refused to allow me access to documents as is legislated in the Societies Act.

I need this information so that I can do my job as a director to satisfy myself that DERA is well-managed and I told each of the alledged plaintiffs that I did not have confidence in the Board or the executive-director and if they refuse to release DERA information to me they are therefore parties to any wrongdoing that has happened or is happening at DERA.

The only one who did not refuse me information is the lawyer for DERA (Jason Gratl) who said it was my right to access his files and he made arrangements for me to review the DERA files he had.

None of the alleged plaintiffs seem to understand the legal concept that I am jointly and severally (separately) liable for whatever happens at DERA. This means that I am entitled to everything even the paper from the shredders to satisfy myself that DERA is well-managed and if they won't give it to me they are accessories in any wrongdoing.

Finally, the invisible are becoming visible (the motto of DERA) but it is the wrong invisible (not the poor) who are now becoming visible.

Directors named in previous post.

Posted Thursday 5 November 2009.