Medicine Hat mayor’s salary restored as most sanctions reversed in judge’s ruling
Mayor Linnsie Clark’s salary was restored and many of the sanctions placed on her by Medicine Hat’s city council reversed by a Calgary judge.
Justice Rosemary Nation, who, in a Monday ruling, wrote some of the measures were unreasonable — also agreed Clark broke the code of conduct by mistreating the city manager.
Nation heard arguments from lawyers from the mayor and city in a hearing this month, and said in an 11-page judicial review ruling she decided not to send the issue back to a council unable to match sanctions to the misconduct.
Councillors “appear to have no sense of proportionality in crafting sanctions and have imposed sanctions that have no rational connection with the breach of the code,” Nation wrote, adding it appeared council went down the list to tick off every box found in the code of conduct.