Former Cupids councillor sues provincial government
Mike Power contends his removal from council, ordered by Municipal Affairs minister, was unlawful
Former Cupids councillor Mike Power isn’t going down without a fight, judging from the content of a lawsuit filed last month in Newfoundland Supreme Court.
Power, who was removed from council last month, is suing the provincial government for damages. He’s also looking to have the order to remove him from council — made by Municipal Affairs Minister Eddie Joyce — declared unlawful.
Power’s removal from council was recommended in a report investigating the removal of a sewer line. The report concluded Power, along with former council member Francis Walsh (who resigned earlier this year), gave an order to town workers last fall to remove a sewer line connected to a property on Seaforest Road. Power’s originating application filed with the court Aug. 24 identifies Dan and Lucy Furlong as the owners of the property.
The report prepared by the Department of Municipal Affairs found Power and Walsh did not have sufficient authority at the time to order the pipe’s removal.
Power told The Compass that the pipe for the sewer line was installed without the proper permits, and council had approved a motion requesting its removal.
“They still haven’t got no permits,” Power said about the property on Seaforest Road.
According to the report, council cited the archeological and heritage resources section of the town plan in ordering the removal. The Provincial Archeology Office later wrote to the town and stated the property has no historic resource potential.
On the issue of the sewer line’s removal, the report concluded Power, with Walsh’s support, gave the order without proper authority. It said that order was given without council approval or knowledge, and the only decision council had endorsed by then was to ask the property owners to remove the pipe.
Power, who did not participate in the Municipal Affairs review of the incident, says the timing of his removal is a bit suspect, given it limited the amount of time he had to fight the decision prior to the upcoming municipal elections.
He is not permitted to run for a seat on council for at least two years. The final report was submitted in April, four months before the order to remove Power was made.
“As a result of the action taken by the (the province), (Power) has been denied his democratic right to run for public office and has suffered general damages, damages for unjust dismissal and special damages for defamation,” reads the lawsuit.
Lawyer Bob Buckingham is representing Power in the case. According to the originating application, Power believes the report “is seriously flawed and incomplete,” and argues it gave no weight to motions on the matter council adopted in July 2011 and October 2016. The former motion refers to a letter advising that the town would not issue a permit for the sewer line until the property owners had approval from what later became Service NL. The latter motion is council’s removal order.
The application also argues the minister erred in how he applied the complaint against Power to the Municipal Affairs Act.
A hearing for the application is scheduled for Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. at Newfoundland Supreme Court in St. John’s.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice and Public Safety told The Compass in a written statement that it would be inappropriate for the government to comment on a matter before the courts.