Mayor Linnsie Clark v. City of Medicine Hat: Five things to know

Here’s five things to know about the ruling:

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1. There was still misconduct

Justice Nation agreed with council that Clark had broken the code and committed misconduct.

On the eighth page of her ruling, Nation wrote council’s finding that Clark had committed misconduct, based on a third-party investigation and report, was “a reasonable decision and logical in light of the evidence.”

“It is a reasonable conclusion that Clark went beyond the topic on the agenda and wished to deal with personal differences the two women had over a legal point that had been earlier discussed,” Nation said.

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2. Apology still required

Several councillors say that if Mayor Clark had apologized for her treatment of city manager Mitchell after the Aug. 21, 2023, meeting, a code of conduct complaint, the third-party Kingsgate Legal investigation and the sanctions would not have been required.

While most of the sanctions were struck down by Justice Nation, the sanction requiring Clark give an apology was upheld.

“Sanction 1 is upheld as it is reasonable,” wrote Nation.

It wasn’t immediately clear when the apology would come or if the other elements of the ruling were dependent on Clark apologizing.

Clark in a statement given Monday did not confirm if or when the apology would come.

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3. Most sanctions were overkill

Justice Nation sided with Mayor Clark for most of the sanctions, finding the limitations on her chair abilities, removal as council spokesperson, committee ban and salary cut “disproportionate and unreasonable.”

“Under a disciplinary scheme, regulatory sanctions are not intended to be punitive and there must be proportionality between the wrongdoing and the penalty,” wrote Nation on the ninth page.

As she did during the judicial review hearing on Aug. 13, the justice questioned the severity of the sanctions and their connection to the misconduct.

“When I review the sanctions, they are on the face very severe,” wrote Nation on the 10th page of the ruling.

“They appear disproportionate with the conduct.”

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4. Following process ‘important’

The tense exchange between Mayor Clark and City Manager Mitchell key to the sanctions was over procedure.

Clark, using a third-party legal opinion, argued that Mitchell did not follow proper procedure when she reorganized city hall in 2023.

While Justice Nation did agree that Clark’s concerns over procedure were valid, she found the treatment of a Mitchell by the mayor was inappropriate.

“The process was important, but this was not the forum,” she wrote.

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5. Sanctions removed

Justice Nation struck down four of the six sanctions placed on Mayor Clark in her ruling, calling them “disproportionate and unreasonable.”

Clark is able to once again preside over council meetings, formally represent city council as its official spokesperson and attend meetings of the administration committee.

The mayor will also receive her full $144,000 salary after council decided to cut it by 50 per cent and get backpay.

When council meets again on Sept. 3, she will be back in the chair’s seat.

by Eli J. Ridder