A former city employee suing for wrongful dismissal says the city's lawyer gave him thousands of emails belonging to a former top city executive.
A motion filed in Ontario Superior Court says many of the emails are listed as confidential and private and contain everything from performance reviews of city employees, internal criticism of city staff members, details of in-camera legal matters and even personal emails regarding marital and health issues.
Bruce Poole, a former top building official seeking $1 million for wrongful dismissal, says in court documents that lawyers representing the city in the case gave him a flash drive containing 53,000 emails, calendar entries and attachments belonging to former chief financial officer and Deputy CAO Al Horsman.
The claim is contained in a motion filed in Ontario Superior Court of Justice by Poole on Jan. 26.
The court filing does not contain specific details of Horsman's emails, but it does list 94 of the subjects of emails now in possession of the fired employee.
Horsman was one of Poole's former bosses who has since left the city and is now the Chief Administrative Officer in Sault Ste. Marie.
The court filing says the emails were given
None of the claims in the lawsuit have been proven and the defendant has not yet responded to the most recent filing.
That motion states that the information later itemized by Poole were taken from the "calendar," "recoverable items" and "deleted items" folders of Horsman's city email account spanning a number of years.
Those three folders contained 11,000 emails/calendar entries and 5,000 attached documents, the motion says.
"The majority (estimated 98 per cent) of these 16,000 (estimated) emails, calendar entries and attached documents in Mr. Horsman's personal Outlook account are not related or connected whatsoever to my legal action against the city or to the intended scope of documentary discovery agreed upon in the Discovery Plan," the motion states.
On Jan. 26,
Poole lists some of the subject matter of the emails and calendar entries he was given as part of his argument that the city is not being totally cooperative under an agreed upon Discovery Plan between the two parties.
The court filing says emails given Poole include:
- 30 individual staff performance reviews
- A calendar entry titled "Linamar - foregoing and/or deferring property taxes or development charges on future Linamar properties"
- "Confidential and private information in regards to the Urbacon action and settlement details" "Confidential and private information in regards to the Dolime legal action and settlement details"
- confidential emails between Horsman and his bank regarding personal investments
- confidential e-mail exchange between Horsman and CAO Anne Pappert regarding concerns about the performance of a senior city manager still with the city
- "Confidential e-mail exchange between senior management staff members in regards to "Terraview complaint re: Development charges @
- several "corporate communications watch list" reports, including one item listed as "investigation of bacteria incident at City Well (Membro) - information protected under client-solicitor privilege"
- copies of numerous confidential city reports
- "Numerous occurrences where Al Horsman was using the City of Guelph's computer system to seek and respond to several new and alternative job opportunities"
- "Confidential and private e-mail exchange (with attached Power Point presentation) between Al Horsman and an external consulting firm in regards to an employment opportunity (Chief Administrative Officer for Al Horsman at the City of Sault Ste. Marie"
- Negative comments (via e-mail) about Mayor Cam Guthrie from a current member of council that was shared with others
- several emails detailing confidential terms of settlements in several legal matters
- confidential e-mail exchange between senior staff members in regards to concerns about the hiring of a senior city manager still with the city
- private and personal emails between Horsman and other executive staff members in regards to personal matters such as marriage and health
- copies of confidential information shared by Horsman with former city staff
- "confidential e-mail exchange between Corporate finance staff and senior management staff in regards to DGBA (financial concerns with the Downtown Guelph Board Association)"
