By Grant Warkentin
Sayward Mayor Mark Baker’s lawsuit against the village’s former chief administrative officer has been rejected by the BC Supreme Court.
In a written judgment published on May 8, Supreme Court Justice Lisa Hamilton said Baker’s defamation case against former CAO John France was likely doomed to fail.
“I am satisfied that Mayor Baker’s defamation action should be dismissed because there are reasonable grounds to conclude that at least one of Mr. France’s defences will succeed,” she wrote. “In the alternative, I find that the public interest in protecting free speech in this case outweighs the public interest in protecting Mayor Baker and his reputation from harm.”
The lawsuit stemmed from a series of Facebook posts France made on a Sayward “Rant and Rave” page between the summer of 2023 and spring 2024. He alleged Baker had engaged in sexual harassment, had not appropriately handled complaints made about his conduct, and used public funds to defend his conduct. The posts refer to three incidents which prompted the complaints: a Christmas decorating event on December 16, 2022; a municipal leadership conference held at a Nanaimo hotel in February, 2023; and a Sayward council meeting on March 14, 2023.
Baker’s defence tried to characterize his comments as “mildly sophomoric” and intended to be “light-hearted” but the judge was not convinced, and said regardless of his intentions, his behaviour was enough to support a finding of sexual harassment.
France said his posts were primarily motivated by concern that Baker and the majority of council were mishandling the complaints — dealing with them behind closed doors in private council sessions, allowing Baker to participate in decisions about his own conduct despite an obvious conflict of interest, and spending public money defending the mayor rather than resolving the matter quickly and transparently.
During Baker’s tenure as mayor, the village has suffered dysfunction inside and outside council chambers. The village is now facing the possibility of unincorporating itself and being absorbed by the Strathcona Regional District.
Baker currently also serves as chair of the regional district board.
The entire judgment, which includes all of France’s posts as appendices, can be viewed online.
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