N.W.T. appeal court denies former Denesoline CEO's challenge of ruling against him
Decision removing him as CEO was fair, court rules
The N.W.T. Court of Appeal has dismissed an application from former Denesoline CEO Ron Barlas.
Barlas had sought to appeal an N.W.T. Supreme Court ruling against him, which ordered, among other things, his removal as CEO of Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation's (LKDFN) business arm, Denesoline Corporation. Supreme Court Justice Karan Shaner found Barlas had used his authority improperly to enrich himself and his family.
In a decision Friday, Court of Appeal justices Jack Watson, Jolaine Antonio and Karen Wenkebach wrote that neither of the grounds Barlas cited for appeal — whether Shaner had given him and his wife Zeba a fair hearing, and whether the remedies granted to LKDFN were justified — had merit.
The decision comes as the latest development in the wide-ranging civil lawsuit LKDFN filed against Barlas, who for years ran Denesoline Corporation. The First Nation accused him of diverting nearly $12 million from its companies for his own gain.
The decision states Barlas objected to the fact Shaner's decision relied on affidavits, questioning, documents and lawyers' oral presentations, and felt she should have ordered a trial.
"Barlas ... disputes various findings by [Shaner] about discreditable conduct that she found was revealed by his own words and the documentary record," the decision noted.
The Court of Appeal found Shaner canvassed similar cases from other jurisdictions of Canada to help her come to a decision. The court wrote that the suggestion that Shaner's decision to not order a trial led to unfairness is "not an accurate way of looking at what happened here."
It cited case law where a judge observed that the ultimate question in a fairness test isn't whether a decision was "the" fair one, but rather "a" fair one.
"The appellants have no basis to claim that they did not have fair notice or opportunity to present evidence and argument," the court wrote.
The Court of Appeal wrote that Shaner's findings, including her characterization of Barlas' actions and attitude, were "amply supported by the evidence."