Mayor, Town of Cochrane sued by former CAO for $875K

The Town of Cochrane & its mayor are being sued by its former chief administrative officer. Monika Malherbe claims she was terminated without cause last April.

Former Cochrane CAO Monika Malherbe is suing both the municipality and the mayor, seeking both reinstatement and $875,000 for what the suit describes as wrongful dismissal.

Malherbe, 55, worked at the municipality for 27 years until she was fired “without cause” in April 2025, the suit said.

“Over her tenure with the town, she developed specialized skills as a senior municipal management official,” the statement of claim said.

“She deeply enjoyed her work and intended to finish her career with the town, serving residents as long as she was able to do so.”

None of the allegations in the suit have been tested in court.

It accused Peter Politis, who was elected mayor in 2022, of engaging in a “years-long campaign of harassment against” Malherbe.

“Shortly after assuming office, Mr. Politis began an unending campaign of bullying and harassment against Ms. Malherbe, which resulted in Ms. Malherbe taking a medically supported stress leave from June 2023 to March 2024, after which time she resumed her duties full-time until her termination in April 2025,” the suit said.

She filed formal workplace complaints against him in 2023, alleging that he criticized her excessively “even for trivial matters.”

Politis is also accused of humiliating Malherbe in front of others, speaking badly about her behind her back, threatened to fire her if she questioned his orders and “repeatedly lied and misrepresented facts or statements made by Ms. Malherbe and others,” the suit said.

An investigation by the town’s integrity commissioner in 2024 concluded that Politis had violated the code of conduct by harassing the former CAO, as well as others who worked for the municipality.

“Between October 2022 and 2024, three out of four director-level executives who reported to Ms. Malherbe left their employment with the town, citing Mr. Politis’ abusive workplace behaviour,” the lawsuit said.

“This forced Ms. Malherbe and her team to have to absorb a substantial amount of additional work in order to ensure the continued proper functioning of her portfolio.”

Anxiety, depression, insomnia

It accuses Politis of orchestrating her dismissal, using closed-door meetings “to impugn Ms. Malherbe’s character and work ethic behind her back without providing her any opportunity to know the nature of the complaints and allegations against her or to defend herself.”

“Throughout this period, Ms. Malherbe began to deteriorate physically and emotionally from the stress,” the suit said.

“She suffered anxiety, depression, and insomnia, which prevented her from achieving meaningful rest without medication, in addition to panic attacks,” the suit said.

“After serving the town tirelessly for nearly three decades, the blow to her dignity, self-esteem, and self-worth was crushing.”

The suit also accuses Politis of trying to implicate her in the misappropriation of $2 million in public funds related to the agri-modal project.

“Ms. Malherbe categorically denies any involvement in any scheme to defraud the town or misappropriate funds, as alleged in the press release or at all,” the suit said.

Linked her to missing funds

In fact, the statement of claim said the missing $2 million had been known since 2022 and was “related to the misconduct of an external contractor engaged by the town on an infrastructure project, that this misappropriation occurred prior to the beginning of Ms. Malherbe’s tenure as CAO, and had been the subject of ongoing civil and criminal proceedings for several years.”

Trying to link her to the misappropriation of funds was another act of “bullying and harassment” against her.

The suit said she is seeking reinstatement as CAO or “a comparable executive position,” $500,000 for emotional distress and damage to her reputation, aggravated damages of $150,000, $75,000 for the breach of Ontario’s Human Rights Code and $150,000 in punitive damages.

Politis responded to the suit in a statement on social media, saying that he had “followed and support(ed) the direction provided by council with respect to matters related to the claim.”

“The Town of Cochrane remains committed to transparency and the proper exercise of its statutory authority and mandate from the people we serve,” Politis said.

“As this matter is now before the Ontario Supreme Court of Justice, it would be inappropriate to comment on the specific allegations at this time. The town and I have full confidence in the legal system and do not intend to litigate this matter other than before a judge.”

“Both the town and I will provide our formal responses by way of a statement of defence in accordance with the rules of civil procedure.”