A council tribunal has ruled that Mayor Greg Dionne was not in an ethical violation for this incident last October, which happened during the CUPE 160 strike. (file photo)

By Susan McNeil

Council legal costs

City says CUPE should pay legal bills after ethics ruling on strike incident

Jul 23, 2024 | 1:02 PM

Prince Albert city council is discussing how to make complainants pay for legal costs when complaints are dismissed, as was the case when a council tribunal rejected an ethics complaint against Mayor Greg Dionne.

The complaint was made after an incident between Dionne, who was leaving city hall during the strike last fall and two picketers who blocked his path. His truck bumper lightly struck two of the picketers who were not injured. The incident was captured by two people on video.

“They brought the complaint. And so to me, they lost and we should be getting court costs – even though it’s not a court – it was a hearing,” said Dionne following the council decision.

To defend himself against the ethics complaint and against a potential criminal complaint (the police opted to not press charges), Dionne hired a lawyer at a cost of just over $10,000.

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On Monday, council voted in favour of paying the bill, just as they did in the past for Coun. Dawn Kilmer, as the complaint was ‘frivolous’.

In Kilmer’s case, a lawsuit by former councillor Evert Botha alleged she was in a conflict when she voted on anything to do with the new arena/aquatics centre because she was on the Prince Albert Raider’s board of directors and had received season tickets for free.

Botha’s information was wrong. Kilmer resigned from the board as soon as she was elected, and board members buy their passes.

She was left with a legal bill of $3,000 after the lawsuit was withdrawn. Council paid it as it was incurred as a result of her council duties.

Council – minus multiple members who declared a conflict (Dionne, Tony Head, Charlene Miller and Terra Lennox-Zepp) voted unanimously to pay the mayor’s costs as well.

At the same time, several councillors said the city should not be paying for failed legal maneuvers – those bills should go to the person or group who filed the complaint.

“Why are we paying? Why are the city’s taxpayers paying? I think the Union should be paying. They brought the action and now they lost the action so they should pay for the action,” said Coun. Don Cody.

“We have these frivolous actions going on through the Code of Ethics (bylaw) and yet at the same time the taxpayers of the City of Prince Albert have to pay.”

He said he plans to make a motion in a future meeting that the bill be sent to CUPE to pay, a stance that Mayor Greg Dionne later supported when asked by paNOW.

Coun. Blake Edwards also supported the idea.

“I agree with what Coun. Cody said, many of these have been frivolous and it shouldn’t cost the taxpayer nor should is cost the councillor if unfounded,” he said. “I do think we need to move forward with a motion saying as such, that if you move these and if it’s unfounded and there are legal costs, you are bound for the coverage of the legal costs.”

A second complaint was made against Mayor Dionne for issues the unnamed complainants had with his conduct at a meeting on Feb. 24.

That complaint was also dismissed by the tribunal, although it did state that Dionne’s use of the word ‘barking’ when talking about other councillor’s comments could have been better chosen.

Discussion at that meeting was also about the ongoing strike action by the city’s inside workers and moments such as the parking lot conflict between the mayor and picketers.

The strike that began last year was the first in the city’s history.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com