The panel of Ontario judges hearing the appeal of former Elliot Lake Mayor Chris Patrie's removal from office has asked the Ontario Divisional Court for an extension to render its decision on the matter.
The panel, which did not give a time frame for when it would release a decision has asked for an extension to Dec. 15.
On Jan. 9, Ontario Superior Court Justice Annalisa Rasaiah ordered Patrie removed from office and disqualified him from holding office for two years.
In her judgment, Justice Rasaiah concluded that Patrie breached two sections of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act between November 2017 and April 2019 by lobbying Elliot Lake city councillors, the mayor and staff to build a $30-million sports hub across the road from the Trading Post plaza he owns a controlling interest in.
In the appeal hearing on April 12, Patrie's lawyer argued that everyone in Elliot Lake stood to benefit from the sports hub, no matter where it was located.
“He should not be disqualified because of a potential greater benefit from the location of the hub to him,” Duxbury said.
He went on to describe the situation in which Patrie was elected mayor of Elliot Lake in November 2022 and then removed from office on Jan. 9, 2023, as "fundamentally unfair."
“How much of this is a political fight in Elliot Lake?" Druxbury asked. "Is the court being pulled in to declare a winner? Is there a little bit of that going on here?”
The Crown argued that Rasaiah's decision was sound and based on an exhaustive examination of unusually extensive evidence.
“It is not fair to the thoroughness of Justice Rasaiah’s decision to say that she misapprehended evidence,” said lawyer Raivo Uukkivi. “Mr. Patrie’s interest was different in kind to the other area businesses as he owns the plaza, operates the plaza and leases units to tenants.”
Acting Mayor Andrew Wannan has been leading council since Feb. 9, 2023, when another judge granted Patrie's request to not replace him until the appeal decision on his case is released.