Jim Karygiannis gets his Toronto city council seat back once again

Thestar.com
August 6, 2020
Jennifer Pagliaro

Jim Karygiannis has once again been returned to his council seat -- at least temporarily -- by the Court of Appeal.

After a hearing Wednesday morning, the elected Scarborough-Agincourt representative was successful in convincing a judge to put a hold on an earlier decision that had turfed him from office.

Justice Harvison Young’s decision Wednesday to grant Karygiannis a “stay” of decision by a panel of her Court of Appeal colleagues while he tries to convince Canada’s highest court to hear his case is the latest in a legal saga that has ping-ponged him in and out of his Ward 22 seat.

Karygiannis was first ousted from office in November 2019 after the city clerk informed him his financial statements filed as part of his 2018 election campaign showed he had overspent a strict campaign limit by nearly $26,000. That forfeiture is automatic as spelled out under the provincial laws governing municipal elections.

Later that month, lawyers for Karygiannis successfully argued for a Superior Court judge to offer him relief from that forfeiture from office and he was returned to his seat.

But Adam Chaleff, a Toronto resident and fair elections advocate, launched an appeal at the Court of Appeal, arguing the lower court had erred in ruling the legislation allowed for Karygiannis to seek relief from forfeiture.

In June, a panel of three judges unanimously agreed. While the written decision noted the penalties under the Municipal Elections Act were “harsh” in some cases, “forfeiture is clearly what the legislators intended.”

Karygiannis is now seeking leave to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court of Canada -- the last stop for this case if the highest court agrees to hear it.

In the meantime, Karygiannis’ legal team requested the Court of Appeal suspend the earlier decision to allow him to resume his councillor duties pending a decision from the Supreme Court on whether it’ll accept the case.

The Supreme Court only hears a limited number of cases each year, with the mandate of the court to focus on issues of national and public importance.

Council has delayed a decision about how to fill the vacant seat until their next meeting, which begins Sept. 30.

In oral and written arguments, Karygiannis’ legal team argued both he and the public would suffer “irreparable harm” if he was not able to return to office for the next two months.

“At the time of Mr. Karygiannis’ forfeiture, there were numerous pressing issues unique to the community that required the active participation of Ward 22’s councillor, including but not limited to the provision of health services and personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, active and ongoing condominium development planning, the installation of traffic calming measures at all schools located in Ward 22, the availability of affordable housing, traffic infrastructure measures, short-term rental occupancy issues, and the completion of TTC Line 4 through Scarborough,” the written submissions read.

Karygiannis, in a statement, thanked family, staff and constituents for supporting him during a “difficult time.”

“I look forward to returning to work as the councillor for Ward 22 and to, once again, serving my constituents,” the statement said.

Chaleff’s lawyer, Stephen Aylward, did not contest the stay motion in court on Wednesday.

Young commended all parties for the speed of making their submissions in light of an upcoming council meeting and the ongoing pandemic.

“It’s a very interesting case and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out,” she said in closing. Written reasons for her decision will be published at a later date.