Town of Midland CAO Rhonda Bunn and her former municipal employer say they plan to "vigorously" defend themselves after a former treasurer filed a lawsuit against them over a series of alleged transgressions.
Bunn is also the former executive director of Innovate Barrie, which is a city department.
Current Township of Adjala-Tosorontio CAO Nelson Santos says former township treasurer Nadeem Munawar Dean’s statement of claim was made just prior to the two-year statutory limitation “so I can’t really speak to the rationale for this timing and don’t have an opinion on the ‘surprise’ factor.”
Santos said that since the township is the lead defendant in the claim outlined in a previous Village Media story, he felt it was important for him to reply to the allegations filed against it, the current mayor, three former councillors and two previous CAOs.
“Suffice it to say, the township and all other defendants do not agree with Mr. Dean’s inflammatory, unfounded, and untrue allegations and will be vigorously defending against them, including the claim, in court,” Santos said.
“To be clear, the township and each of the individual defendants look forward to a full dismissal of the case and reserve all rights to advance all appropriate motions related to Mr. Dean’s claim including that it is improper to have individual defendants in the claim.”
In a statement of claim filed in Barrie court earlier this month, Dean contends that alleged incidents connected to the named defendants led to his decision to go on sick leave and his eventual termination as the township’s finance director/treasurer.
Some of the more serious allegations centre around Bunn, who became the CAO of Adjala-Tosorontio in August, 2020, and is accused in the statement of claim of a campaign of ongoing harassment against Dean, who was fired two years ago.
Besides Bunn, who lives in Wasaga Beach and left her position in Adjala-Tosorontio on April 12, 2022, the lawsuit also names Chris Robinson of Cannington, Deborah Hall-Chancey of Everett, Annette Bays of Loretto, Jonathan Pita of Colgan and Scott Anderson of Lisle.
The claim further goes on to say that Robinson fired Dean “under false pretenses, thereby acting outside of the scope of his employment as chief building officer.”
It further states that Bunn was Dean’s supervisor and “overstepped her authority as chief administrative officer, including violating statutes and the policies and procedures of the township.”
None of the allegations have been tested in court and the defendants have 20 days to respond to the claim with a statement of defence.
Bunn, who became Midland's CAO last July, addressed the statement of claim, but not some of the allegations found therein.
“This statement of claim has no relevance to the business of the Town of Midland nor my current role in the municipality and as such will not be providing comment as this is a legal matter to be processed in the courts,” Bunn tells Village Media.
Midland Mayor Bill Gordon didn’t respond to specific questions posed by Village Media, but instead forwarded a message the municipality sent to its staff after the story broke Friday afternoon.
In the memo to staff, Gordon notes that Bunn and others have been name in a statement of claim.
“As the former head of the Municipality of Adjala-Tosorontio, these types of claims are neither unusual nor unexpected,” Gordon explains.
“The ‘statement of claim’ is a litigant's principal opportunity to allege anything and everything they believe helps their case, regardless of the existence or strength of any evidence supporting those claims.
“That is the way civil suits work. The document is filed in court, and becomes a public record. The news reports on matters they believe to be in the public interest and in this case, likely due to her high profile within our community, has chosen to report on the unproven (and potentially baseless) allegations laid out in the document.”
Gordon goes on to to point out that the Adjala-Tosorontio legal counsel team will file their legal response to the allegations within the prescribed time-frame and the media "may" choose to report on that document once it becomes available.
“In the meantime, the narrative belongs to the litigant and this means that Ms. Bunn gets to be tried in the court of public opinion without having any ability to speak to the allegations or defend herself or her former employer,” Gordon outlines.
“From our perspective, these allegations are just that, unproven and untested by a trier of fact in court. These have nothing to do with her role or responsibilities in Midland. Aside from her needing to engage with her former-employer's legal counsel and perhaps attending court at some point in the future, this has no impact on her duties with us," says his note to staff.
Gordon also notes that from a financial perspective, this matter is entirely handled by her former employer and, therefore, has no impact on Midland.
He adds: “Accordingly we have no reason to comment further on the matter as it neither relates to Midland, nor her role and responsibilities here.”
Santos, meanwhile, says they’re encouraging members of the public, including but not limited to Adjala-Tosorontio ratepayers to allow the judicial process to come to a completion before making any determinations or judgments.
“The township and all of the individual defendants are confident that a full dismissal of the case will occur,” he said.
“Collectively, we also encourage media outlets to be responsible in its reporting, as the township and all of the defendants are reputable and outstanding persons and reserve all rights to pursue libel, defamation and other claims against any person who adversely affects them including their reputation and livelihoods.”
