Three Thorhild County councillors turfed by the Municipal Affairs minister have been granted a 60-day reprieve by a Court of Queen’s Bench judge.
Thorhild reeve Dan Buryn, along with councillors Wayne Croswell and Larry Sisson, asked for and received an injunction against their removal from Justice Debbie Yungwirth March 18 in Edmonton.
Yungwirth said the injunction, which expires May 13, will allow for a judicial review of their firing and determine whether Municipal Affairs minister Danielle Larivee acted outside her authority under the Administrative Procedures and Jurisdiction Act.
“I know there are lots of interests at stake, so I don’t want to jump to a decision,” Yungwirth said.
Larivee dismissed Buryn, Croswell and Sisson March 10 for breaching provincially-mandated directives set out in the 62-page Thorhild Final Inspection Report released in September 2015.
Specifically, Larivee said the three were turfed for voting in favour of hiring former Westlock-St. Paul MP Brian Storseth as CAO — an independent human resources firm advised them not to hire Storseth. As of Friday the trio’s counsel, Debbie Bishop, says her clients have not been told why they were fired.
Following the decision, the three addressed media outside the Edmonton Law Courts building and said they were pleased with the decision. Due to the review the three have been reinstated to council.
“It’s excellent. The matters at hand should be dealt with in the courts and it’s wonderful we got this extension,” said Buryn.
“The damage to the community has been paramount and we have to start bringing our community together.”
Larivee, however, continues to stand behind her decision.
“Our government has a duty to ensure the Municipal Government Act is being followed, so trust and integrity can be maintained at the local level,” she said in a statement.
“I remain confident that I made the right decision to ensure that the residents of Thorhild are served by an orderly, accountable, and professional government.”
Municipal Affairs lawyer Bill Olthuis maintains there’s more going on in Thorhild than what meets the eye.
“You’ve heard one version of the story, but there’s another version,” he said, going on to refer to the petition signed by 800 residents, the 2015 inspection report and subsequent recommendations to council.
Buryn, Sisson and Croswell continue to refute the Final Inspection Report, calling it a “witch hunt.”
The reeve added that he believes the Thorhild inspection was started by the former PC government to see the three removed that Larivee continues to go along with.
“She has a PC faithful, PC loyal bureaucracy … the management she deals with,” Buryn said.
“She has these people working in her ministry and they have a bone to pick with Thorhild County and they’ve got a two-foot leash on the minister and she’s going along with their rhetoric.
“Municipal Affairs can manipulate the political climate in every municipality, if they so choose, through this municipal inspection process.”
Municipal Affairs launched the Thorhild inspection in early 2015 following a petition signed by 800 county residents.
It culminated in the release of a Final Inspection Report in September 2015 which detailed details divisions between the five councillors, interference in the day-to-day running of the municipality and accusations of bias, bullying, threats of violence, improper conduct and general dysfunction.
Council was ordered to follow 14 ministerial directives that included the termination of then CAO Betty Kolewaski and Coun. Sisson.
“I think the whole inspection report was rigged,” Croswell said.
The three councillors have said that council had already complied with many of the directives set out in the report and had received letters from Municipal Affairs thanking them for their compliance.
“It’s like the New Soviet has been unleashed here, and that’s what my grandparents fled Europe from,” Buryn said.
“It’s disturbing.”
Roughly 50 Thorhild County residents turned up for an organized rally in front of the county’s municipal office March 17 to support the three.
“People power is a good thing. They wanted to show their support for the Judicial Review,” Buryn said. “They were thrilled there was the injunction. They’re shocked and they’re very disturbed with what’s going on.”
Editor’s Note: With files from Doug Neuman, St. Albert Gazette.
