Northwestel sues Whitehorse's Orange Technology for libel

Northwestel is suing a Whitehorse business, accusing its owner of making libellouscomments about Northwestel services in Yukon.

The telecommunications company filed a statement of claim in Yukon Supreme Court alleging that Martin Lehnerof Whitehorse-basedOrange Technologydefamed Northwestelin a November interview on CBC Radio in Yukon.

Lehner was being interviewed about internet service in the Whitehorse area, and described complaints he's heard from Northwestel customersabout frequent outages. Lehner also said those customers had been told by Northwestelthere were no plans to fix the problems.

In its statement of claim,Northwestelsays parts of Lehner'scomments on CBC "were untrue, were reckless with respect to its truth and had an improper motive in making the statement."

The statement also says Lehner's comments damage Northwestel's business and reputation, and expose it to possible sanctions from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission(CRTC).

Northwestel is demanding damages for loss of profits, and a public apology from Orange Technologies. The amount of damages being demanded is unspecified.