Civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by former Barrie councillor Mike McCann dismissed

A civil lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by Barrie City Councillor Mike McCann has been dismissed.

A million-dollar civil lawsuit against former Barrie councillor Mike McCann alleging he sexually assaulted a city employee has been dismissed without costs.

The 2022 claim in the Superior Court of Justice in Barrie was dismissed in late March by a Barrie judge on consent according to court records obtained by CTV News.

Neither the defendant, McCann, nor the plaintiff, Amanda Kelly, could be reached for comment on the dismissal. Legal counsel for each party did not respond to requests for comment either.

The $1.075 million lawsuit was launched by Kelly who claimed McCann made unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances toward her when she worked as a City of Barrie business innovation and entrepreneurship officer. McCann was a city councillor at the time.

The lawsuit claimed McCann while at a downtown Barrie bar in December 2019, became aggressive with Kelly by placing his hands on her while pressing his body on hers. The lawsuit alleged McCann told Kelly he could “make or break” her career. The claim alleged McCann later pushed his pelvis into Kelly.

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It was alleged McCann told Kelly to dump her boyfriend and go out to dinner with him. She rejected his advances, and he became enraged. The claim says Kelly felt anxious, violated, threatened and in shock.

Ten days later, Kelly reported the incident and other previous interactions with McCann to the city. A third-party investigation concluded McCann’s behaviour was inappropriate, disrespectful, and harassing. He was ordered to complete sensitivity training.

McCann denied any wrongdoing at the time and told CTV News he would vigorously defend himself in court.

Later that year McCann ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Barrie, finishing a distant fourth place with five per cent of the vote.

Last March, McCann filed a $5 million civil lawsuit against the City of Barrie and an unnamed defendant referred to as “John Doe” who was either a councillor or city staffer, alleged to have leaked a confidential report to cause harm to McCann personally and professionally.

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McCann claimed he has lost a substantial number of clients and had to reduce his workforce from 40 employees to fewer than 10. A request to speak with legal counsel for the civil lawsuit launched by McCann was also not returned.