A former councillor has been ordered by a judge to pay the Town of The Blue Mountains $20,000.
Michael Seguin, who stepped down earlier this year after serving approximately three years as councillor, brought a judicial review against the town, and on Aug. 13, filed a motion to abandon that judicial review, according to a press release issued by The Blue Mountains on Sept. 21.
The judge, Justice LeMay, has ruled Seguin must pay the town $20,000 in the next 180 days.
Seguin announced his resignation in May, 2018. He was elected in 2014.
At the time, he also sent out a statement as a media release and posted to his Facebook page.
“It is with my deepest regret that I found it necessary to announce my resignation,” he said.
Seguin said in his statement he filed the judicial review in response to how a complaint made against him was dealt with. He alleged it was handled “behind closed doors by a human resources lawyer with a working relationship with the complainant.”
Seguin said he had been trying to reach a settlement with town council and claimed they made an offer, which he accepted, but was then rescinded.
He said his resignation was part of the settlement.
On April 30, 2018, the town’s integrity commissioner Janet Leiper delivered a report on her investigations into a complaint made against then Councillor Seguin by a member of staff suggesting Seguin breached the town’s code of conduct by making public comments on social media sites that were disrespectful to staff.
According to Leiper’s report, the comments included a reference to the staff complainant undermining council’s authority and there were multiple uses of the phrase “witch-hunt.” There were further instances of the councillor alleging the complainant used the “public purse, without being accountable to both council and the taxpayer.”
According to Leiper’s report, Seguin denied breaching the code of conduct because of the context and due to his feeling he had been unfairly treated by council in the past consideration of a complaint against him.
Eventually, Seguin did take the comments and posts down, but not after the first request.
Leiper’s report states she finds Seguin did breach the town’s code of conduct through his social media posts. She recommended a reprimand for the councillor, though it was up to Blue Mountains council to decide what that looked like.
Another complaint, also investigated by Leiper, suggested Councillor Seguin received donations from members of the community for his legal expenses in litigation with the town. No details were provided on the source or amounts donated. The complainant asked Leiper to investigate whether this breached the code of conduct section dealing with gifts and benefits.
According to Leiper’s report, Seguin confirmed money had been paid by donations directly to his counsel for legal fees, but Leiper said Seguin claimed he had not solicited, approached, or established any fund to obtain money from constituents for his legal expenses.
“The councillor now appears to appreciate the issue after some discussion of the matter and reviewing the draft findings,” wrote Leiper in her report.
She found Seguin breached the code of conduct in this matter as well. At the time she delayed recommending sanctions because she was waiting for more information from Seguin’s lawyer.
In a report dated May 25, 2018, Leiper noted Seguin’s resignation and recommended council defer the matter of sanctions against Seguin. She said she did not receive the requested information and added council does not have the ability to impose a sanction on a former member of council.
“I can assure everyone that there have been no gestures over the past two years from anyone advising me that they donated and then trying to influence my performance of my duties to office,” said Seguin in his statement from May 8, 2018. “There is absolutely no conflict of interest.”
Seguin is not a candidate in the 2018 municipal election for The Blue Mountains.
