Nanaimo drops lawsuit against mayor
In what Mayor Bill McKay views as vindication, the City of Nanaimo has dropped its lawsuit against him.
Instead, Nanaimo council will hold a censure hearing early in the new year “to achieve a meaningful outcome,” the city said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The city’s statement said the 12-month window it had to act on its complaint against the mayor was closing, and given the “constraints and delays in the judicial system,” councillors unanimously decided to pursue another course.
McKay said the reality is that the proposed legal action was groundless “and politically motivated.” All the city had to do within the last 12 months was officially serve him notice of the claim, he said.
“I would have welcomed an opportunity to have addressed all of the allegations in a court of law where it would be fair and transparent and unbiased. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear I’ll be able to do that now,” McKay said.
“The only move they had to make was to walk down the hall to my office and serve me with the papers or at any council meeting. It’s not like I’m hard to find.”
The municipality launched a civil lawsuit seeking damages against the mayor last December alleging he provided confidential information to a former municipal employee, in contravention of B.C.’s Community Charter and its privacy legislation.
The notice of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court said that McKay helped Marilyn Smith, who served as administrative assistant, in bringing a claim against the city.
The city’s statement Wednesday said that “council has chosen the alternative route of a censure hearing to achieve a meaningful outcome.”
Councillors unanimously decided this month to file a notice of discontinuance.
“The justice system requires complaints filed be acted on within a 12-month window. Given the time constraints and delays in the judicial system as well as the delays to address the issues by the respondent and his legal team, council has chosen the alternative route of a censure hearing to achieve a meaningful outcome,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, McKay said, he’d like to know what legal costs are being incurred. “I believe the community, myself included, would like to know the legal costs incurred to date, and what will be expended on a future censure hearing.”