Quesnel Mayor Ron Paull missed his chance to fight back against a censure imposed by fellow council members, the municipality alleges in a response to a petition seeking a judicial order to have the measure lifted.
In part, Paull claims he should have been given 14 days notice of the censuring and sanctioning in order to provide hims with time to prepare a response. Paull was notified of the step on April 18, which was 12 days before council voted to approve the sanction.
However, in a response filed Monday, the City of Quesnel says that after speaking with legal counsel, Paull told City staff he was content to proceed on the date in question, and five days before the meeting provided his written submissions on the matter for council's consideration.
At no point during the April 30th meeting did Paull raise issues of procedural fairness, the city says.
"Specifically, at no time did the petitioner take the position to city staff or council that he was entitled to or required a full 14 days' notice of council's consideration of the April 30 Resolutions of Censure and Sanction," the response says.
"Council should have been afforded the opportunity to address the procedural fairness concerns at the outset, and the petitioner, who was aware of the alleged procedural defect should not be permitted to 'stay still in the weeds and later brandish it on judicial review when it happens to be unsatisfied with the first-instance decision'" the response continues, citing various exampled of case law on the matter.
Council took the step over his handling of a controversial book that questions claims about the conditions in residential schools. Roughly a month later, a petition was filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Paull's behalf to have the censure lifted.
Sanctions related to the censure include removing him from Indigenous relations, the Cariboo Regional District and the Northern Development Initiative Trust, as well as city committees excluding standing committees. Paull's travel and lobbying budgets were also removed.
Paull was also required to provide a sincere apology and council was to review the progress the mayor has made regarding the sanctions after three months.
Controversy erupted when it was learned Paull's wife, Pat Morton, had been sharing copies of the book Grave Error: How the Meda Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools).
Critics assert the book is an example of residential school denialism.
At council's March 19 regular meeting, a letter from the Lhtako Dene Nation taking issue with Morton's actions was added to the meeting agenda by unanimous vote.
Paull then read a statement in which he acknowledged Morton was the person referred to in the letter, but denied reading the book himself and stated he did not agree with what Morton was doing when asked directly.
Council then adopted a resolution affirming the terms set out in the intergovernmental memorandum of understanding with the Lhtako Dene as well as a resolution denouncing the book.
However, three days later Paull brought a copy of the book to a Cariboo Regional District meeting and allegedly "attempted to circulate the book to at least two individuals at the meeting," the city says in the response.
In the petition, Paull has said he brought a copy to the meeting but only because at a committee of the whole meeting the day before, a director raised concerns about books focused on sexual orientation and gender identity being available to children and youth in local libraries.
"At our CRD board meeting the next day, I brought my wife's copy of Grave Error and after the meeting, I showed it to two of my colleagues, and wondered what the CRD library would do with it," Paul says in his petition.
The matter became the sole issue at council's April 2 regular meeting and the Lhtako Dene Nation advised council that "due to the ongoing hurt" caused by Paull's actions, it would be stepping away from working with the city until the issue was resolved. As well, a representative of the Nazko First Nation said the "relationship of trust" had been broken.
Council later voted 6-1 to direct staff to prepare a report on censuring the mayor. Paull voted against.
The steps taken by council were "reasonable" and "procedurally fair," the city contends in the response.
The matter remains before the court and none of the allegations have been tested.
