Ex-councillor's words 'make me feel sick,' jury hears

The jury in a high-profile lawsuit against former Saint John city councillor John Ferguson saw a video Friday of some of the allegedly defamatory comments he made about the citys pension board.

The video was of a televised council meeting on April 5, 2005, when city solicitor John Nugent and then-city manager Terry Totten declared a conflict of interest because they were pension trustees, advising council on the pension, as well as senior city employees.

"There is damning evidence here of gross negligence," Ferguson said.

"The same individuals who could guide us in respect to our obligations and responsibility of council are the same individuals who decided to walk away from" recoverable money, he said.

The citys pension board is suing Ferguson for allegedly defamatory comments he made in 2005 about its handling of the pension fund, which had a $47-million deficit at the time.

The boards lawyer, Barry Morrison, said he wanted to play the video for the Court of Queens Bench because he felt it was particularly defamatory.

Andrew Beckett, a former finance commissioner, who wastestifying for a third day Friday, said he felt the comments also applied to him.

"They make me feel sick to my stomach," he said, after watching the video in court.

Earlier this week,Fergusons lawyer named Beckett as one of the people responsible for the pension plans deficit.

Rod Gillis claims Beckett was among the members who voted for expensive changes to the plan in the mid- to late-90s, which they stood to benefit from the most.

The changes, which included increasing the maximum pension cap to $45,000, up from $40,000 and then indexing it, did not benefit the average pensioner, but did benefit the top-earners who enacted the changes, argued Gillis.

The trial is slated to last six weeks.