City council remains focused on serving the residents of Medicine Hat, Coun. Andy McGrogan said. (Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News)

By Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Council will respect judicial review findings into sanctioning of Medicine Hat’s mayor, councillor says

Apr 2, 2024 | 6:02 PM

City council will respect the findings of a judicial review into its sanctioning of Mayor Linnsie Clark but remains focused on serving the residents of Medicine Hat, a councillor said Tuesday.

Coun. Andy McGrogan was speaking after he and the other councillors who stripped the mayor’s powers released a statement Monday night saying they saw misinformation circulating through the community but remained certain in their decision.

Clark last week announced she filed for a judicial review in an attempt to reverse the restrictions that were placed on her.

McGrogran said he was not surprised the mayor decided to take legal action but expressed disappointment.

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“If she’s waiting for a court to tell her how she needs to feel about this and think about it and do the right thing, then that’s her choice,” McGrogan told CHAT News.

Coun. Andy McGrogan says council is focused on serving Medicine Hat residents. (Ross Lavigne/CHAT News)

“I think council will respect the decision, whatever it is. And we’ll move on again with the focus of serving our community.”

The group of seven councillors who voted for Mayor Clark’s restrictions on March 21 put out its Monday statement as a final word for now on the controversy.

“We wanted people to realize that just because there’s misstatements being made, it doesn’t mean that they’re all accurate,” McGrogan said.

“We stand by the decision that we made with the information we had in front of us following the fair and thoughtful process we had.”

McGrogan said council understood there are many supporters of Mayor Clark who are disappointed, disenfranchised or frustrated.

“There are a lot of people [who] voted for this mayor and had great expectations of her, and I respect that, I have as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, a group of residents are gathering support before submitting a letter calling on council to lift Clark’s sanctions.

Another group plans to ask Alberta’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs to step in with an inspection.

The ministry said it was keeping an eye on the situation in Medicine Hat in response to a CHAT News request for comment.

“We are monitoring the situation in Medicine Hat to ensure it follows the proper process,” a spokesperson for the ministry said Tuesday.

The ministry did not address questions over whether it act to carry out an inspection.

Council has maintained it followed Alberta’s Municipal Government Act the whole way through the sanctioning process.