Manitoba community heading to court to remove fellow councillor

Tensions building in rural Manitoba council CTV's Danton Unger has more on a group of councillors in the R.M. of Thompson trying to oust a fellow member.

A rural community in Manitoba is taking a dispute with one of its councillors to court after trying to oust her from council.

Coun. Donna Cox took her seat at the council table Thursday morning during a regular council meeting in the RM of Thompson – a seat that has caused controversy in the community located about 90 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.

Minutes after sitting down, Cox was told the rest of council felt she was disqualified as a councillor and said she would not be allowed to sit as a councillor in the meeting.

Following an in-camera session, the remaining councillors unanimously passed a resolution to retain a law firm and make an application in the Court of King’s Bench to disqualify Cox as a councillor.

“We take no joy in this,” Brian Callum, the reeve for the rural municipality, said during the meeting, adding the council is trying to follow the Municipal Act and trying to protect the community.

Cox wasn’t given an opportunity to speak during the council meeting.

The move left residents who attended the meeting frustrated and asking questions.

"It's like why did you vote her in and shortly after, vote her out?" said Michele, a resident in the area who attended to support Cox. "If it's a bullying situation, then that needs to stop in this community because we all pay our taxes, we all belong here and everybody should be treated fairly."

Travis Reichert, a resident and former councillor, said he was disappointed to hear what was happening.

"If council could just go, 'Well, we don't like this member of council, we're just going to get rid of them and get another new one in.' What kind of councils would we have?" he asked. "We'd be in even rougher shape politically than we are now, and we're not in that great shape to begin with."

This is the latest step in a battle that has been brewing in the community for months, which started after council decided to reschedule its council and committee meetings to the mornings.

Cox, who works full-time, was the sole councillor to vote against this.

READ MORE: Battle brewing in rural Manitoba after councillor ousted by fellow members

Cox has served more than a decade as a school division trustee before she jumped into municipal politics when she was elected to council in October.

She's been told this disqualification is the result of her missing three consecutive meetings of the Local Urban District of Miami - a committee she said she was not aware she was a part of anymore.

Cox previously told CTV News she believes she is being excluded because she is a professional working woman. She has since filed a code of conduct complaint against the council, alleging she was the target of bullying.

Callum declined an interview, but told CTV News in a statement, "We feel that the resolutions passed by council this morning speak for themselves. The matter is now with legal and will be dealt with through the court process."

While Manitoba's Municipal Act does say a councillor can be disqualified if they miss three consecutive meetings – the province says only a judge can make that decision.

"It is the court that has authority to declare a member to be disqualified and the member’s position on council to be vacant. Until such a declaration has been made by the court, the council member remains on the council," a spokesperson for the province told CTV News in an email.

The whole situation is raising concerns for University of Winnipeg political scientist Aaron Moore. He said while he has heard of councillors being removed in Manitoba, the cases are few and far between.

"The reason for getting rid of a councillor should be because they're not fulfilling their actual role, and not because you don't necessarily agree with their approach and their perspectives on certain issues," he said.

He said this move could discourage younger Manitobans who work full-time from running for municipal politics.

"We've already seen in the last round of municipal elections, a lot of acclamations and a lot of concern that there weren't enough people running," he said. "You want to give as much opportunity to allow for the largest group of people to attend and as well for candidates from different backgrounds to actually participate in local politics."