Saskatoon City Council voting on motion related to councillor misconduct allegations

Saskatoon city councillors will consider a motion from the mayor about allegations leveled against one of their colleagues at the meeting next week.

“In response to a number of communications I’ve received regarding the news articles concerning councillor Donauer, I will move the following motion: Would the administration provide a report outlining what governance options are available to Council, including the legislative framework, when public concerns are raised regarding the conduct of members of Council,” the mayor’s agenda item says.

Earlier this month Coy Nolin, a former student of Legacy Christian Academy, came forward accusing councillor Randy Donauer of paddling him at a church summer camp in 2003.

Nolin and other students of LCA, previously known as Saskatoon Christian Centre Academy, alleged that staff routinely paddled students and engaged in controlling and abusive behaviour.

Nolin is also a plaintiff in a proposed class action lawsuit stemming from the abuse allegations.

He said he filed a police report about the incident allegedly involving Donauer, which he claims happened in 2003 at a church camp when he was 16-years-old.

He says Donauer was already a member of Mile Two Church when his family joined when he was 10 years old, and everyone at the church knew each other.

“There was someone else who was the kid's camp director, but (Donauer) was there in like an 'above that' capacity,” said Nolin.

He says there were two other teenaged staff that were close and it became a joke that they were dating, which “was not something to joke about, relationships of any kind."

When Donauer found out, Nolin and others involved were disciplined, he says.

“I was told that spreading rumors and gossip was sin, and that it was ungodly, and I needed to be more of a ‘man of God’ and then I had to bend over and get spanked.”

Donauer has denied any wrongdoing.

The motion will be presented to Monday’s governance and priorities committee at city hall.