British Columbia·Go Public

Editor's note

CBC News has published an editor's note.

In December 2016, CBC News broadcast and published a story that suggested an elderly man from Castlegar, B.C., was the victim of financial abuse by his family. 

Peter Stoopnikoff has now retracted information that he gave about his eldest daughter and her husband during a CBC interview in 2016. In a statement provided to CBC he says, "I made erroneous and disparaging statements about Anne Filippone and Robert Filippone and their dealings with me." He has now "unequivocally withdrawn" those statements and apologized, saying they "conducted themselves with honesty and integrity at all times in their dealings with me. They did not deserve to be the targets of my unfounded allegations."

Dianna Stoopnikoff, Peter's youngest child, also says in a statement that she made "erroneous and disparaging statements" about Anne and Robert's dealings with Peter in emails she sent to the CBC for the story. She has withdrawn all of her statements and acknowledges that "there was never any basis for any of them. The statements were entirely unjustified."