Municipal council bans man from all meetings

SASKATOON A Saskatchewan man permanently expelled from council meetings in the rural municipality of Rosthern says the removal feels like a “punch to the stomach,” but the R.M. says the man was banned due to “improper conduct.”

Councillors unanimously passed a resolution to expel Gabriel Benoit from the R.M.’S council meeting on Tuesday, and from all future meetings.

The resolution says there have been at least two instances in which Benoit displayed “improper conduct.”

Benoit said the expulsion is an attack on his democratic rights, claiming the fact he previously took a councillor to court may have contributed to his expulsion.

“I thought we had democracy in this country and that you would need more than an R.M. council to remove my rights as a citizen,” he said. “I know now that’s not the case.”

Benoit said he was told he was recording the meeting illegally.

In response to questions from the Starphoenix about the specifics of the “improper conduct,” the R.M.’S lawyer, Candice Grant, said in an email “the RM will not be offering comment on the questions you have posed.”

Tuesday’s resolution noted Benoit was banned from council meetings in November 2018, but was able to return if he followed the R.M.’S bylaws and policies. It says he “deliberately breached” those bylaws and conditions on Jan. 9, “amounting to a clear no regard for the legal requirements of the R.M. as set forth in the bylaw.”

Benoit previously applied to Court of Queen’s Bench to have councillor Tom Madden removed from council over an alleged conflict of interest involving $4,289 the R.M. paid him to perform work for the municipality.

In a written statement, the Ministry of Government Relations said Saskatchewan’s legislation recognizes municipalities are a “responsible and accountable level of government within their jurisdiction” and the chair of a public meeting can “expel an observer for improper conduct, as described in a municipality’s Council Procedures Bylaw.

“However, if a citizen believes they’ve been treated improperly by their municipal government, they may file a complaint with Ombudsman Saskatchewan.”

Rosthern RCMP have received complaints from both parties.