A Sylvan Lake town councillor who filed a civil lawsuit against the municipality is considering dropping the legal action.
Kjeryn Dakin filed a statement of claim in August seeking $317,000 and a public apology from the town on its social media accounts for the way she felt she was treated last year during what became a Code of Conduct investigation and a finding that she breached the code.
The first-term councillor would be sanctioned in October 2023 and ordered to write a written apology and take a course on social media for working professionals and another focused on "balancing work and life in challenging times."
Dakin feels the whole issue has been "blown out of proportion" and has overshadowed her original intent, which was to draw attention to what she believes are legitimate concerns about how municipal Codes of Conduct processes are deeply flawed and can be used to target councillors.
"The only way I could really get any results was to put in a statement of claim," she said on Monday.
"It's not about the money. I don't want the money. I even told (the town's) lawyer I don't want a penny. I just want a conversation around it.
"Unfortunately, it had to get this far. All I was looking for was an apology on how it was handled."
Dakin said she is considering abandoning the legal fight because she believes her point has been made.
"It's something that I'm more than likely looking at, just pulling it at this point, because I'm getting the voice on it that I need.
"My goal here was to affect change and I might have to switch my strategy to affect change. My goal here is not to divide the community. That's not what I want to do, and that's what it's doing."
Dakin said Codes of Conduct have become a contentious issue in many Alberta communities.
"If you don't agree on something you can use a Code of Conduct to get someone punished. It's just not the structure (to deal with conduct issues), honestly.
"If anything, there needs to be a third party to handle all these codes of conduct that come forward and it needs to be out of the hands of other co-councillors."
At the Alberta Municipalities convention in Red Deer in September, members voted to advocate to the province to establish a central office to investigate Code of Conduct breaches and recommend disciplinary actions.
The resolution was sponsored by Town of Rocky Mountain House, which has had its own Code of Conduct controversies. In introducing the resolution at the convention, Rocky Coun. Len Phillips said the current code system is costly, creates conflict and anxiety and can be weaponized.
Other municipal councillors who believe Code of Conduct processes need reform have reached out to her.
Dakin was sanctioned for a Code of Conduct breach in May 2023 in connection with an incident at her restaurant involving another business owner, which she referenced in a Facebook post.
For the breach, she was ordered to write a public apology and take social media training.
The restaurant incident later led to an assault charge in September 2023, which was resolved in April with a peace bond, which is not a conviction or an admission of guilt.
Dakin thought the matter had been settled in May but then came a Code of Conduct investigation and new sanctions five months later.
In her statement of claim, which names the town, Mayor Megan Hanson and chief administrative officer Sean Durkin she alleges "due process was broken."
She claims she still has not received an answer on what specifically she did to merit sanctions.
The physical and emotional toll the controversy took on her was detailed in her statement of claim, which claims that the stress, anxiety and depression she suffered left her virtually housebound and led to $360,000 in business losses.
While those admissions alarmed friends, she believes it was important to highlight the impact he Code of Conduct process can have on those subjected to it.
"I was not OK and I don't want somebody else to come along and go through that hardship."
A statement of defence filed on Sept. 9, 2024 on behalf of the town, CAO and mayor says the mayor and CAO "acted reasonably and in good faith."
"In answer to the whole of the Statement of the Claim, the Defendants deny that any of the factual allegations contained in the Statement of Claim disclose a proper cause of action against the Defendants, and state that the claim is frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process."
The town calls for the dismissal of the claim along with an order striking portions disclosing in camera discussions and that Dakin be ordered to pick up the town's legal costs.