Watch above: Saskatoon Coun. Pat Lorje will not be charged for leaking a private document on riverbank slumping. Amber Rockliffe reports on the findings of the Regina police investigation.
SASKATOON – Following an investigation by Regina police, a Saskatoon city councillor will not be charged for leaking a confidential city document. It is believed Pat Lorje leaked a document concerning the 11th Street riverbank slump to former MLA Eric Cline last year.
An investigation was launched into an alleged breach of the Cities Act by Saskatoon police in October 2014 after a request was made by the city clerk. The file was then turned over to Regina police to avoid any possibility of a conflict of interest.
The investigation was completed in December and turned over to the Ministry of Justice. The public prosecutions division reviewed the file and determined there was no reasonable likelihood of a conviction.
“It’s wonderful to know that I’m not facing jail time, or a stiff fine,” Lorje explained.
“I’ve not been judged by my peers, I’ve been judged by people whose job it is to interpret the law.”
Lorje was sanctioned by Saskatoon city council in November for breaching the city council code of conduct. She will have restricted access to private city documents for the next year.
Following the vote to sanction Lorje, several city councillors said if they were in her shoes, they would step down.
“It seemed like a couple of them were really disappointed that they couldn’t have gone further,” Lorje said.
“And so I wonder if there wasn’t some kind of political agenda to try to discredit me.”
READ MORE: Saskatoon city councillor Pat Lorje reprimanded
At the time, Lorje stated she did not realize she was in breach of the city’s code of conduct when she sought advice.
Amber Rockliffe contributed to this report.
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