The mayor of Quesnel in northern B.C. has won a lawsuit against the city after he was censured and removed from numerous committees, following a controversy over the distribution of a book accused of minimizing the impact of residential schools.
Mayor Ron Paull had sought a review of council’s actions against him last April, where he was accused of damaging relationships between the city and local First Nations.
The move followed reports that his wife had shared a book that challenges the harm of residential schools with community members, and allegations he had recommended it to other local elected officials in the city of around 23,000 people located 400 km north of Vancouver.
Paull argued that he was not given proper notice of the meeting where council stripped him of his official roles, and the staff motion that eventually saw him being censured on April 30 was unclear and didn’t have specific allegations against him.
The city argued, however, that Paull had waived his right to two weeks’ notice, which is set out in the city’s code of conduct for meetings where sanctions are considered, as he had sent an email saying the April 30 meeting could proceed.
Ultimately, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Hugh Veenstra found in favour of Paull, and ruled on Monday that the resolutions against the mayor should be quashed.
“I’m happy that this is all coming to an end and now I look forward to getting back to the pressing work that I was elected to do,” Paull told CBC News.
“My health has been impacted by this … too long of a nightmare, and I’m working hard to find myself again.”
Quesnel city council has voted unanimously to censure Mayor Ron Paull, claiming he damaged relations with First Nations. Paull’s wife distributed a book that local First Nations say minimizes the harms of residential schools.
Paull said the process to reinstate him to his committee positions is now underway.
City manager Joel McKay told CBC News that the city accepted the ruling, and staff was focused on helping council meet its goals going forward.
CBC News has reached out to the Lhtako Dene and Nazko First Nations for comment on this story.
Book became council flashpoint
The controversy that led to Paull’s censure began last March, when the Lhtako Dene First Nation said that a person related to an elected councillor had been distributing a book of essays called Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools).
The book claims that the media helped shape a false public narrative of what happened at the schools, and it had been denounced by the Lhtako Dene Nation as minimizing the traumatic impact of the institutions on Indigenous children.
It emerged that Paull’s wife had given it to the parent of one of Quesnel’s councillors, and Paull also told the court that he brought it with him to a local government meeting on March 22.
Lhtako Dene elder Bryant Paul, who attended St. Joseph Mission residential school, speaks to Quesnel city council on Apr. 2, 2024.
On April 2, 2024, a large contingent of community members marched to council chambers and was critical of Paull, and the Lhtako Dene promised not to work with him going forward.
That day, councillors moved a motion that asked staff to report back to them with their options for censuring or otherwise imposing sanctions on Paull.
City staff then prepared a report on April 18 relating to censuring Paull — which became the heart of the mayor’s lawsuit against the city.
Mayor says no notice given
The April 18 motion, as it was written, would have asked staff to provide directions regarding sanctions on Paull.
However, it also included extensive details on what could be done in the form of sanction, including an official censure and removal of his official roles as mayor.
It was sent to Paull on April 19, according to the court judgment.
On April 22, Paull said the report could be presented at the April 30 council meeting — which the city argued constituted a waiver of his rights to two weeks’ notice before an official meeting related to sanctions.
However, Paull argued in court that the motion was unclear in its wording and included no mention of specific misconduct that he had allegedly committed.
He also said that the motion did not indicate that he would ultimately be censured on April 30, which is what ended up happening after he recused himself from the meeting.
At the time, councillors had argued that censuring Paull was essential to restore the city’s relationship with local First Nations, and to successfully apply for grants or enter partnerships with other levels of government.
The court ultimately sided with Paull, saying the motion was “confusing and ambiguous” and he was ultimately censured for reasons that weren’t laid out in the report.
“I do not mean to suggest that there was any attempt in this case to misuse powers for cheap political gain,” Justice Veenstra wrote in the judgment.
“It appears to me that the actions of Council in this case are more likely attributable to a confusing and ambiguous staff report … and the sense that clearly motivated several of the Councillors to believe that immediate action was required in order to preserve important relationships.”
A national 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available at 1-866-925-4419 for emotional and crisis referral services for survivors and those affected.
Mental health counselling and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat.
