(Background: rdnewsNOW file photo; inset of Kjeryn Dakin: Supplied)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

town calls suit 'frivolous and vexatious

Sylvan Lake council member suing municipality, mayor and CAO for $317,000

Oct 4, 2024 | 6:35 PM

A Sylvan Lake town councillor is suing the municipality, its mayor and chief administrative officer (CAO) for $317,000, and wants a public apology.

Kjeryn Dakin has had an eventful last year-and-a-half; it was in May 2023 she was involved in an incident at the Sylvan Lake restaurant she owns which led to her being charged with assault.

She was then sanctioned under the town’s Code of Conduct policy for inflammatory social media posts, and had to issue a written public apology, as well as complete social media training.

The town confirmed earlier this year that she completed those tasks.

With regards to the assault charge, Dakin was not convicted, nor did she admit guilt, but she was given a Peace Bond this April.

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She spoke to rdnewsNOW in June about being happy to return to focusing on community-building.

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Dakin, on Aug. 22, filed a lawsuit against the Town of Sylvan Lake, Mayor Megan Hanson and CAO Sean Durkin, rdnewsNOW has independently verified after learning about it from an external source.

The Town had 20 days to respond and did so in early September.

The suit, which stems from the Code of Conduct process and assault case, claims due process was broken by council.

Dakin says that on May 22, 2023, council discussed her social media posts, and decided she should take social media training. Her understanding then was that the matter was settled.

On May 23, Dakin notes she and other council members departed for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Toronto. Dakin claims she left the conference early and returned home after “poor treatment” from Mayor Hanson.

Dakin says June brought public pressure from a small number of people, which led to council actually undertaking a Code of Conduct investigation into her actions. This led to the required apology and two courses.

In her Statement of Claim, she says CAO Durkin told her he had, “messed up the process,” and to, “Blame him.”

Dakin says from then on, she entered into a deep depression from stress and anxiety. She says she didn’t have a voice on council for six months while everything played out.

As readers will see in the full Statement of Claim below, Dakin notes that the Code of Conduct process stretched until November 2024, but she confirms to rdnewsNOW that it should say 2023. She also misspelled Mayor Hanson’s last name, which is corrected in the defendants’ response.

Dakin then claims Mayor Hanson made a statement to the Red Deer Advocate newspaper about the assault charge even though said charge had not been made public.

“When I read the article I had an extreme panic attack when I was driving back to Calgary. I ended up in Innisfail hospital for 8 hours and bed riden (sic) for a week,” Dakin wrote in her claim.

She says this all affected her business which experienced its first loss in a decade, and to the tune of $360,000.

Dakin also wrote she experienced thoughts of suicide and almost got divorced.

“How this matter was handled deeply affected me and changed me forever,” she wrote. “I had to take antidepressants for a year and just now have gained my confidence back to have a voice.”

In addition to the $317,000 she’s claiming, Dakin wants a public apology for how she was treated on the Town’s and Hanson’s social media accounts.

Kjeryn Dakin’s statement of claim

In a statement, The Town of Sylvan Lake says it appreciates that Councillor Dakin completed her sanctions, but regrets that she has chosen to pursue legal action.

“Mayor Hanson, CAO Durkin and the town acted appropriately, following due process under the Municipal Government Act of Alberta and the town’s Code of Conduct Bylaw,” the statement reads. “The town of Sylvan Lake, Mayor Hanson and CAO Durkin will respect the court process and will refrain from further public comment on the matter.”

The Statement of Defence, which rdnewsNOW obtained through Alberta Court of King’s Bench, says that at all times, the mayor and CAO acted in good faith and within the scopes of their roles.

Specifically, the defendants (Hanson, Durkin and the town) deny that the events happened as described, or at all, in the Statement of Claim; that they owed any or breached any duty of care owed to Dakin; that statements were made as alleged in paragraphs 2-4, 6 and 9 of the Statement of Claim; and finally that the plaintiff sustained losses or damages as alleged.

They further call Dakin’s claim, “frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process.”

The defendants are seeking dismissal of the claim, an order striking portions of the claim which disclose details of in-camera meetings, legal costs, and other relief as deemed appropriate by the court.

Defendants’ Statement of Defence

Councillor Dakin told rdnewsNOW she believes Code of Conduct regulations are a, “real issue.”

“The way it is set up currently divides councils against each other. I have deep admiration for anyone who goes into public office, especially on a municipal level,” she says.

“My objective to file [legal action] was to start the conversation around how terribly the Code of Conduct is handled and that it was leveraged to benefit the political platform of one or two people who didn’t like the way a member of council argued against items.”

She says her Code of Conduct investigation was dragged on, only to come to a conclusion that she’d already agreed to.

She also notes that though the Town offered to pay for the social media training, she paid herself.

“[The Code of Conduct] needs to be handled by an impartial third party. It cannot be used as a weapon. I don’t need to be on council. I have a desire to help others. I don’t do it for the paycheque,” she says.

“I don’t want the money. I want the conversation and real changes, but people only seem to pay attention when it’s about money.”

A future court date for this matter has not yet been set.

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