CTV has issued a notice that its legal dispute with Patrick Brown has been resolved.
The announcement, which now precedes the original story containing the allegations of the former Barrie MP and city councillor, has been posted on the national broadcaster’s website.
“Key details provided to CTV for the story were factually incorrect and required correction,” reads the statement. “CTV National News regrets including those details in the story and any harm this may have caused Mr. Brown.”
Brown launched an $8-million defamation lawsuit after the story accusing him of sexual misconduct aired in 2018.
Brown, meanwhile, called it a difficult period in his life.
In a comment to BarrieToday on Wednesday morning, Brown said as part of the agreement neither he nor CTV would discuss its details and the statement speaks for itself. But he said he could discuss “the harm done.”
“It was incredibly difficult, but it’s almost poetic that today is the anniversary of my engagement,” said Brown, who is now married and has two children. “God has a reason for everything.
“I survived this period because of a wife who was incredibly supportive and was by my side like a rock, my sisters, my family who knew this wasn’t who it was. I’m looking to the future with optimism," he added. “I’m just happy to move on.”
Just as the story was being aired in 2018, Brown denied the allegation in a televised statement in which he appeared shaken. He resigned as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario the following day.
One of the women making the allegations in the broadcast initially said she was under the legal drinking age during her encounter with Brown, but later said she was 19 and had graduated from high school. CTV then updated its story with the change.
Brown said his book, Takedown, The Attempted Political Assassination of Patrick Brown, published at the end of that tumultuous year, captures what transpired.
Brown also told BarrieToday last week that he's considering throwing his hat into the ring as the federal Conservative party launches its leadership campaign this spring.
On Wednesday, he said he will make his decision known within “the next few days. I realize that I need to make a decision because the race has already started.”
Brown was first elected to Barrie city council in 2000 and left partway through his second term in 2006 to become the federal MP for Barrie. He had failed to win the seat in his first attempt in 2004, losing to Liberal incumbent Aileen Carroll.
He remained the area’s MP until 2015 when he took over the leadership of the Ontario PC Party, replacing Tim Hudak. That July, Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop gave up his seat, allowing Brown to run in a by-election, which he won.
Brown resigned as leader in January 2018 following the sexual misconduct allegation and was forced out of the PC caucus the next month. That fall, he successfully made a bid to become the mayor of Brampton, defeating incumbent Linda Jeffrey.