Sask. RM council that removed member for alleged conflicts of interest in the wrong, judge finds

Court of King's Bench in Regina can be seen in this file photo. (Gareth Dillistone/CTV News)

A Regina Court of King’s Bench judge says the Rural Municipality (RM) of Rocanville unfairly disqualified a councillor from his position, doing so before he was given the opportunity to address multiple allegations placed against him.

Court records show that Timothy Wushke had been a councillor since 2013. In a July 11, 2024, meeting, council for the RM of Rocanville passed a resolution disqualifying him as a councillor. On the same day council also declared that Wushke’s office was vacant, the document says.

According to the document, the meeting’s agenda did not indicate that a discussion on Wushke’s potential removal from council would be discussed or considered and he was given no advance notice of any concerns prior to the July 11th meeting.

Council disqualified Wushke on the basis of several allegations, including accusing him of expensing a $677 bill for clearing a beaver dam from his mother’s property to the RM and not his personal address in June 2024.

Wushke said the invoice was sent to the RM by the contractor by mistake, adding he did not initially make council aware of the mistake because he was unaware the work being done was on his mother’s property.

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Council also said that in 2021, Wushke met with a contractor and authorized the hauling of dirt for a road repair project in his division without approval from the RM’s reeve and in accordance with council and the foreman. The document says that added an expense to the RM of $12,760 and the loss of potential profit from selling the dirt.

“Mr. Wushke was given the option of being disqualified from Council, paying the overage amount or taking conflict of interest training. Mr. Wushke took the latter option,” Judge S.M Sinclair said in his decision.

“Despite the issue seemingly being resolved in 2021, Council elected to punish Mr. Wushke again for the same transgression.”

According to the decision, Wushke did not declare a conflict of interest on multiple occasions when council discussed hiring his adult son as a contractor or when approval was sought for the invoices issued by his son.

According to the document, nine payments were made to his son between November 2014 and November 2020.

“Mr. Wushke indicates that he did not think at the time that he had to recuse himself, although he realizes otherwise now after taking conflict of interest training. He indicates that no one had raised any concerns about this matter before the July 11, 2024, meeting, almost four years after the last invoice,” Sinclair wrote.

Lastly, in 2020, it was alleged Wushke approved work for culvert repairs without council’s approval.

Wushke indicated that council informally discussed projects and did not always authorize them in advance, adding that after the work was completed a resolution was passed by council approving the work and expense.

Wushke argued that dismissing him and declaring his seat vacant was an overstep by council.

Judge Sinclair ruled that the RM acted in a “procedurally unfair manner” while removing Wushke from council.

As a result, Sinclair declared that council’s resolutions that disqualified Wushke now be deemed void. Wushke was also entitled to be reimbursed for the costs associated with his application.