The applicant, a municipal deputy fire chief, brought a motion seeking an order that the municipality pay his advanced legal costs relating to a whistleblower complaint and a public interest application alleging municipal conflict of interest by the mayor.
The court considered whether the municipality’s whistleblower policy contained an implied term requiring reimbursement of legal fees and whether advanced costs should be awarded under the test from British Columbia (Minister of Forests) v. Okanagan Indian Band.
The court held there was no basis to imply a contractual term requiring the municipality to fund legal counsel for whistleblowers where the policy was silent on such payments.
Applying the Okanagan test, the court found the applicant was not impecunious and had the ability to fund the litigation himself.
Although the allegations involved public officials, the issues did not reach the level of broad public importance required for an advanced costs order.
