Superior Court dismisses suit from Sudbury councillor against the city
Bill Leduc was seeking $450,000 in damages from the city over an investigation into his campaign finances
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has dismissed a suit from a Sudbury city councillor against the city.
Last year Coun. Bill Leduc was seeking $450,000 in damages from the city over the creation of a committee tasked to look into alleged finance contraventions from his election campaign in 2022.
Leduc has denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations against him were motivated by political considerations as opposed to election integrity concerns.
In his suit, Leduc also requested an injunction against Sudbury resident Anastasia Rioux.
Rioux brought the allegation of election campaign finance misconduct to the Election Compliance Audit Committee in 2023.
It was the committee that put forward a motion to the court to dismiss Leduc's suit. It was granted on Friday.
Submissions are due in September on the issue of legal costs related to the suit.
In a statement, Christopher Duncanson-Hales, who ran against Leduc in 2022, said he was relieved that the committee should be able to continue its work, investigating the campaign finance misconduct allegations against Leduc.
"With this distraction now removed, I am hopeful the focus can return to the findings of the independent KPMG audit," Duncanson-Hales said.
The KPMG audit, published in May 2024, noted several instances where Leduc was alleged to have contravened the Municipal Elections Act.
In one example, auditors found that Leduc received a $500 cheque from Norm Bouffard, which would have been $475 more than the permitted cash contribution limit for a municipal campaign.
The audit also outlined expenses Leduc incurred during a Grandparents Day event that occurred during the 2022 election campaign.
Rioux, the Sudbury resident against whom Leduc was seeking an injunction, said the hundreds of dollars he spent at that event amounted to campaigning, but Leduc has argued otherwise.
If found guilty, Leduc could be forced to forfeit his seat on council and would not be eligible to be elected or appointed to any municipal office until after the next regular election.