The Alberta provincial crest hangs inside the lobby at the Calgary Courts Centre in this 2019 file photo. The judicial review of Medicine Hat council's sanctions on Mayor Linnsie Clark will be held today.--FILE PHOTO
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An Alberta justice today will weigh the arguments between Mayor Linnsie Clark and her council, which limited her interactions with staff, ability to chair meetings and cut her salary in half this past spring.
The judicial review, called for by Clark shortly after the controversy erupted in March, will be heard in a one-day hearing today at the Calgary Court Centre by King’s Bench Justice Rosemary Nation.
A decision could be reserved and released at a later date, or shortly after the hearing – Monday was scheduled for the justice to review several hundred pages of materials submitted by law firms representing both Clark and the City of Medicine Hat.
Clark told the News this month she was looking forward to a judgment on the decision and penalties that she argues are unreasonable after being found in contravention of council’s code of conduct policy.
Council spokesperson and chair, deputy mayor Ramona Robins, implied in comments to the News that little work toward out-of-court resolution had taken place in four months, but all nine members of council would have to abide by the court decision.
Clark is represented by the firm of Bennett Jones in the hearing today, scheduled in a remarkably fast timeline, while the City of Medicine Hat’s outside legal firm is Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer.
It’s not clear if any party will attend in person at the hearing, which is also being held virtually according to court protocol.
The review could potentially uphold the decision by seven city councillors to sanction Clark, or it could quash the decision in whole or in part, reduce penalties and potentially award costs, as asked for as potential relief in Clark’s application.
It won’t however, reverse any corporate changes, layoffs or promotions that were at the heart of a public argument at council last August, which brought to light disagreements between elected and administrative officials at city hall.
The Medicine Hat issue arises after a complaint was launched by Coun. Shila Sharps after an August 2023 meeting where Clark questioned Mitchell directly for about 10 minutes over a “corporate reorganization” undertaken by the CAO as an initial major project after being hired six months earlier.
That night it arrived at council for formal changes to an organizational bylaw to reflect reporting structure, but Clark questioned Mitchell stating the changes were out of order.
She has since argued the complaint and penalties would produce a
“significant chilling effect” on elected councillors performing oversight duties that the voting public expects of elected officials.
Other councillors have said changes in the re-organization were well known to them from closed-meeting briefings.
Clark was found by a third-party report to have breached council’s code of conduct bylaw for the interaction, but no breach was found related to her seeking and presenting an outside legal opinion of council’s role in the reorganization.
That report was presented to council committee in early 2024, and in March that year, seven councillors not named in the complaint voted to accept the findings,
A letter of reprimand was read out, and council approved a list of sanctions including Clark losing the chair position at council, her ability to enter staff areas at city hall, and that she would no longer be considered an official spokesperson.
Her interactions with Mitchell were limited to email carbon copied to other council members. Her base pay, $148,000 per year in 2023, was reduced by 50 per cent going forward.
