Former Barrie councillor seeks millions in damages over alleged confidentiality breach
A former Barrie city councillor and mayoral candidate is seeking millions of dollars in damages from the City and an unnamed individual, alleging confidential information was released to the public, damaging his reputation.
CTV News has obtained a statement of claim filed by Mike McCann in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on March 28. The defendants are listed as The City of Barrie and an unidentified John Doe.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
McCann, who represented Ward 10 for two terms before unsuccessfully running for mayor in 2022, is seeking $5,000,000 from both the City of Barrie for special damages from negligence and defendant John Doe for "misfeasance in public office."
McCann is seeking another $250,000 from the City for general damages caused by negligence and $250,000 from John Doe for mental suffering.
Another $250,000 is being sought from each defendant for aggravated and punitive damages.
The claim comes as a result of confidential information that McCann alleges was improperly leaked to the media in regard to a complaint filed by a city staffer that McCann allegedly sexually assaulted and sexually harassed her in 2019.
According to the statement of claim, the City hired a third party to conduct an investigation into the allegations filed against McCann. That report was then provided to city councillors, with the statement claiming it was clearly marked as confidential in multiple locations.
McCann alleges that councillors met to discuss the report in camera in October 2020. The statement of claim alleges that an article later published on an online news site in April 2022 claimed to have obtained the confidential report.
The statement holds the City of Barrie responsible for the leak, saying "inadequate policies and procedures to protect confidential information from leaks enabled and caused the leak."
McCann is claiming that the unnamed John Doe, either a councillor or city staffer, leaked the report intentionally, alleging that the individual wanted to cause harm to McCann.
The former mayoral candidate claims that the leak has caused damage to him personally and professionally, claiming he has lost a substantial amount of clients and had to reduce his workforce from 40 employees to fewer than 10.
McCann claims the City enabled the leak, referencing a recent report by the Integrity Commissioner focussed on leaked information by current councillor Clare Riepma. Riepma claimed that the leak was unintentional.
In his statement of claim, McCann alleges this proves a "culture at Barrie where confidentiality is a matter of mere lip service."
The City of Barrie has a total of 20 days from when the statement was filed to file its own statement of defence. A spokesperson said they were unable to comment on the matter as it is before the courts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
At least 9 dead in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after severe weather roars across region
Powerful storms killed at least nine people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where drivers took shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
As Canada warms, infectious disease risks spread north
Cases of Lyme disease have now increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and risk factors northward.
Man throws flaming liquid on New York City subway, burns fellow rider
A man set a cup of liquid on fire and tossed it at fellow subway rider in New York City, setting the victim's shirt ablaze and injuring him.
'Furiosa,' 'Garfield' lead slowest Memorial Day box office in decades
Movie theaters are looking more and more like a wasteland this summer. Neither "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" nor "The Garfield Movie" could save Memorial Day weekend, which is cruising towards a two-decade low.