Quesnel Mayor’s Court Victory Over Censure for Bringing Residential School Book to Meeting

March 6, 2025 TruthUSA

Quesnel, B.C., Mayor Ron Paull has emerged victorious in a lawsuit against the city following censure and exclusion from committee participation due to his actions revolving around a book on residential schools.

Council members decided to withdraw Paull’s travel reimbursements and prohibit him from committee involvement in April last year after allegations arose that he presented a book critical of media coverage regarding alleged graves discovered at residential school sites.

Paull disclosed that he brought the book to a regional district gathering and briefly showed it to two peers on March 22, 2024.

Entitled “Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools)” by Thomas Flanagan and C.P. Champion, the book delves into the media’s reaction to the purported mass grave site at the Kamloops Indian Residential School declared by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nations in May 2021.

“I did not express any opinion about the Book. My interactions with both Directors lasted less than a minute,” Paull clarified, as per thecourt records from March 3.

The altercation over the book strained relations between the city and the nearby Lhatko Dene Nation, leading the indigenous community to refuse cooperation with Paull or council post the accusations.

Paull contested the council’s decision, claiming inadequate notice for an April 30, 2024, meeting where censure resolutions were adopted. He asserted that the council’s actions lacked procedural fairness as he was not forewarned about the resolutions to censure and penalize him.

The city contended that Paull had waived his right to a two-week notice by emailing the city manager indicating the meeting could proceed.

In a March 3 judicial review, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Hugh Veenstra ruled in Paull’s favor, annulling the resolutions against him based on procedural fairness concerns.

Justice Veenstra highlighted the city’s inconsistent arguments, stating that council’s assessment of Mayor Paull’s leadership and accountability was not grounded in clear conduct.

“The City submits that in considering the Mayor’s leadership and accountability, Council has to be able to take into account the City’s relationship with local First Nations,” court documents mentioned.

Justice Veenstra pointed out the ambiguity in censuring a colleague for perceived lack of leadership without tangible misconduct.

City Plans to ‘Move Forward’

The city is now looking ahead post the ruling, as stated by manager Joel McKay in a released statement.

“The City welcomes a decision that allows us to move forward,” noted McKay. “At this point, administration remains focused on supporting and implementing Council’s vision and goals.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Paull for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Paull assumed the mayoral role in 2022 after serving on the council since 2014.

Book Troubles

One of the co-authors of “Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools)” conveyed to The Epoch Times that people had criticized the book without reading it beforehand.

Flanagan, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Calgary, stated that most children at residential schools succumbed to diseases like tuberculosis. He emphasized the absence of any proof of children being murdered at these institutions.

“Not a single child burial has been found anywhere in connection with a residential school,” he emphasized. “Ground penetrating radar shows only soil disturbances and does not demonstrate a burial. In several cases where such soil disturbances have been tested by excavation, nothing has been found.”

A letter from members of the Lhatko Dene Nation to Quesnel council on March 19 expressed disappointment at the book’s contents, underscoring the painful memories and trauma experienced by the community due to their residential school experiences. The letter viewed the book as exacerbating their distress.

Lhatko Dene Nation is situated a short drive from Quesnel, a city of around 23,000 residents, located 400 kilometers north of Vancouver.

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