The day after she says she was terminated as an employee by the City of Brampton, Ont., former mayoral candidate Nikki Kaur has begun legal action.
A litigation hold sent by Kaur’s lawyers to the City of Brampton and seen by Global News confirms she is “is preparing to pursue litigation.”
A litigation hold instructs an organization to preserve certain records that may be relevant to future legal action.
Kaur took a leave of absence from her role as a director within the city’s planning, building and economic development department to run against incumbent Patrick Brown in Monday’s municipal election.
In an email sent to Brampton councillors on Tuesday, interim chief administrative officer Paul Morrison said Kaur is “no longer working for the city.”
On Tuesday, Kaur said she had retained legal counsel.
“Ms. Kaur’s termination is the culmination of a long conspiracy among senior City officials to silence her persistent efforts to expose wrongdoing and possible corruption in the City’s administration,” the letter alleged.
“This conspiracy included her 2021 dismissal and subsequent reinstatement, and was rooted in her recent mayoral campaign,” it claimed.
The year 2021 is a reference to Kaur’s brief dismissal after sending an email with allegations of wrongdoing at city hall under former chief administrative officer David Barrick.
The City of Brampton did not respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, city officials said they do not comment on personnel matters.
Kaur’s lawyers have instructed Brampton to preserve documents and city communications devices belonging several city hall figures, including several in Mayor Patrick Brown’s office.
“To that end, the City is required to circulate this notice to all employees, instructing them to preserve all documents as set out above,” the letter said.
In her statement on Tuesday, Kaur alleged that “Patrick Brown has once again tried to silence me for alleging wrongdoing and mismanagement at City Hall.”
In response to questions about the statement, Gary Collins, Brown’s director of communications, told Global News the mayor “does not get involved in these issues.”
On Wednesday, after the letter was sent to the city, Collins said Brown would “will not be commenting on this matter.”
Unofficial live results from the City of Brampton show Brown won Monday’s election with a significantly increased majority.
He won 59.65 per cent of the vote compared to 25.55 per cent for Kaur.