The husband of former B.C. NDP leader Carole James and two other members of the Burns Lake band have offered to drop a defamation suit against one of the defendants.

Last summer, James’s spouse, Albert Gerow, Nicholas Daniel George, and Wesley Sam sued 13 people for defamation amid conflict within the band, which at that time was led by Gerow as chief.

Members of the First Nations community were and continue to be at odds over many issues, like the proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline. As band chief, Gerow endorsed exploration work for this project that his wife’s political party opposes.

According to a copy of the proposed settlement agreement and release, band councillor Ronald Charlie will be off the hook if he acknowledges that he and the other defendants defamed Gerow, George, and Sam. Charlie would also have to delete a Facebook page that has been critical of the three. In addition, Charlie would have to support efforts to stop any defamatory statements in the future against a chief or councillor of the Burns Lake band.

Gerow stepped down as band chief last December and took a job with TransCanada Pipelines Limited. In an election held in February, Sam was elected the new chief. George is a band councillor.

Charlie told the Straight by phone that there’s “no way in hell” he would sign the settlement. According to Charlie, he and his fellow defendants are “more than willing to go to court”.

The 13 defendants in the suit include Charlene Desrochers, the Ontario-based lawyer of Charlie and his allies.

In a March 25 letter to McDonald & Duncan LLP, the Vancouver law firm representing Gerow, George, and Sam, Desrochers said that if its clients want to drop the case, they should file a notice of discontinuance against all of the defendants.

Gerow and Sam didn’t grant interviews with the Straight before deadline.