By Mark Squibb
Witless Bay council has paid out $3,324 for the wrongful dismissal and reinstatement of councillor Margaret Swain.
Swain was kicked off council this past February after an alleged conflict of interest regarding a proposed Ragged Beach Crown Land Reserve. Soon after being acclaimed to council last November, Swain had allegedly remarked, during a private meeting of council, that she would not be voting on the matter because she knew landowners in the area. Shortly after, during her first public meeting of council, Swain proposed council delay voting on the matter so that she could get up to speed on the issue.
During a private meeting held on January 30, councillor Ralph Carey accused her of being in a conflict, and at yet another private meeting in February, Carey, then Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard and her husband and fellow councillor Alan Richards, along with councillor Gerard Dunne voted to fire Swain over the alleged conflict. Mayor Trevor Croft and councillor Jacob Hayden voted against the motion to dismiss Swain.
Yard and Richards have since both quit council.
Following her dismissal, Swain indicated to the Irish Loop Post that she intended to appeal the decision and bring the matter to Supreme Court, paying for her lawyer’s fees out of pocket.
However, in June, before the matter made it into court, council reinstated Swain, and has since agreed to cover her legal costs.
The motion to reimburse Swain the $3,324 worth of legal fees was moved by new councillor Justina Nawaz at a private meeting held on July 29. Both Carey and Swain declared a conflict of interest on the matter and did not vote on the motion to pay the legal bills. The remainder of council voted unanimously to pay the bill.
As the Municipalities Act requires that decisions of council made in private be ratified in public, council did just that during Tuesday’s public meeting
Carey and Swain again both declared conflicts and did not participate in the public vote. The remaining four members of council all approved the motion to ratify the decision.
