Hill can stay on council, as late campaign filings inadvertent: judge
Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill can remain a member of City Council, a judge ruled Thursday.
Justice Richard Danyluik found that Hill breached his campaign financial disclosure obligations by failing to file by Feb. 16, 2021.
According to the election and campaign expense disclosure bylaw, an elected official who violates it is disqualified from council and must resign immediately. However, Council had referred the decision to the courts.
Danyluik found the breach was the “result of inadvertence,” so Hill can remain.
Hill has said that health issues, including a COVID-19 and an earlier brain injury, played a part in his late filing.
“Frankly, had Mr. Hill suffered a serious heart incident or been diagnosed with cancer in early February 2021 and therefore been late with filing his disclosure as a result of symptoms and treatment, I have doubts that we would be here at all or that the matter would have been referred to this Court for a decision,” Danyluik wrote.
“But because a significant component of Mr. Hill’s difficulties involved him being unwell mentally and emotionally, I have sensed a decided lack of acceptance that this could cause him to be late with his filing.
“Just because you do not understand something does not mean it is untrue. Perhaps this case give us all an opportunity not only for introspection, but to gain a better understanding of mental health issues and their insidious and debilitating nature.”
The Judge also questioned city council’s decision to refer the issue to the court, instead of deciding itself whether Darren Hillshould keep his seat.
“The City has opted to pursue a course that has an appointed official effectively deciding whether the person that citizens elected as their municipal representative should remain such. Put another way, some appointed guy (me) can decide to get rid of a duly elected public officer without ever being accountable for that decision.” The Judge wrote in his ruling.
The judge added he understands the legislation allows the issue to be referred to the court. However, he said it doesn't mean he would “stand by silently and simply act only as a referee.”
Mayor Charlie Clark said in a statement: "I am glad to have a decision. City Council followed due process and now we can proceed with greater certainty in our city governance."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.