Sudbury city councillor facing Election Act charges files lawsuit

Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc, who is facing legal action in connection with his campaign spending in the October 2022 municipal election, has started legal action of his own.

Leduc is suing the City of Greater Sudbury and Ward 11 resident Anastasia Rioux for a total of $450,000 and is seeking to stop legal action against him, among other remedies.

None of the allegations mentioned in the lawsuit have been tested in court.

The suit accuses Rioux of making statements that “are false and were made with malice and the intent to harm Mr. Leduc’s reputation.”

The bad blood with Rioux is rooted in the fact she complained to the city’s Election Compliance Audit Committee about Leduc’s election expenses.

Specifically, she said Leduc used a Grandparent’s Day event in September 2022 to promote his campaign, but didn’t report it as a campaign expense. The audit committee asked KPMG to look further into the matter, and the KPMG audit concluded Leduc appeared to have violated campaign spending rules.

As a result, the committee recommended legal action be initiated against Leduc for apparent violations of the Municipal Elections Act.

Ward 11 Sudbury city coun. Bill Leduc (CTV Northern Ontario)

In his lawsuit, Leduc said Rioux’s comments were defamatory and caused him emotional distress and anxiety, as well as harm to his personal and professional reputation.

“Defendant Rioux’s statements place Mr. Leduc in a false light by suggesting unethical and unlawful behaviour in his capacity as a city councillor and political candidate,” the lawsuit said.

“These statements were highly offensive to a reasonable person and were made with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.”

The suit also accuses the audit committee of “deliberately engag(ing) in unlawful conduct in the exercise of their public functions.”

Suit says committee was biased

The committee “demonstrated bias” through its “undue reliance on the defendant Rioux’s unproven allegations,” the suit said.

It also “made the decision to proceed with legal action against Mr. Leduc for improper purposes, including political motivations rather than genuine concerns about election integrity.”

“Mr. Leduc maintains that the defendant Rioux’s actions and statement, as well as the city’s handling of the proceedings through its committee, have gone beyond legitimate political discourse and criticism, amounting to malicious and coordinated attempt to damage Mr. Leduc’s reputation and political career.”

The lawsuit is dated July 31.

In an email to CTV News, Greater Sudbury spokesperson Tanya Gravel said the city received the statement of claim from Leduc.

“The city must file a statement of defence within 20 days,” Gravel said.

“The claim will be defended through the courts in due course.”

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Gravel also said the work and decisions of the Election Compliance Audit Committee are independent of city council.

“Municipalities are responsible for the costs of the committee’s operation and administrative oversight is provided by the city clerk,” she said.

“Municipalities in Ontario are required … to establish Election Compliance Audit Committees to consider applications for compliance audit of election campaign finances of candidates in municipal and school board elections.”

In response to a message from CTV, Rioux said she will seek legal counsel before responding to the suit.