Wyatt turns to courts to fight integrity commissioner’s ruling, council reprimand

Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt is asking a court to overturn an integrity commissioner’s finding that he harassed the city’s former top bureaucrat, and order city council to apologize for the reprimand he received.

Wyatt has applied to the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench for a judicial review of the matter. City council formally reprimanded him in January after he refused to apologize for comments he made about former chief administrative officer Michael Jack.

On Thursday, Wyatt stood by his comments and said letting the commissioner’s ruling stand would risk “chilling” the free expression of city councillors.

“I think it’s the responsibility, if not the duty and obligation, of an elected official, when they feel something is wrong… to speak up. I think that’s why our citizens have elected us. And I, therefore, do not think that anyone… should have the ability to censor, to shut down freedom of speech,” he said.

Wyatt made controversial comments after a judge ruled two city officials deliberately stalled the Fulton Grove housing development on the former Parker Lands and ordered the city to pay $5 million in damages. The city won an appeal of that order last month.

In a 2023 media report, Wyatt criticized Jack for not firing a staff member named in the judgment and suggested Jack himself be replaced.

“We need a change. We need a new CAO and we need to start removing some of the dead wood that exists in senior management,” he said at the time.

City of Edmonton ethics commissioner Jamie Pytel ruled the comments were “offensive, disrespectful, threatening and amount to harassment.”

Wyatt said he expects his challenge of that decision, and the council penalty that followed it, will be heard in about six months to a year.

“I’m confident that it will be overturned,” said Wyatt.

The councillor is asking a judge to order city council to issue a formal apology for reprimanding him and to require the city to pay for his court costs.

Wyatt alleges the commissioner weighed his actions against a previous code of conduct and should have instead used an updated definition of harassment implemented in 2024.

“Council made the decision to reprimand me following the new code. And that is where they went wrong. They should have… enforced the existing code, not the old code,” he said.

In a notice of application, Wyatt alleges council acted in “bad faith.”

In a news release, he deems the reprimand unreasonable, arguing it “undermines the fundamental role of city councillors in overseeing the conduct of senior public officials.”

The councillor said he may consider additional legal action in the future.

Mayor Scott Gillingham declined to comment.

In a brief email, city communications director Felicia Wiltshire declined to answer questions.

“The city has not been served (the application yet) and has not reviewed any documents relating to this matter,” wrote Wiltshire.

In the initial ruling, Pytel said Wyatt tried to use his authority “for the purpose of intimidating, coercing or influencing the complainant,” with an intent to interfere with his duties.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga