Judge denies appeal

A Supreme Court Justice has upheld a lower court ruling that found Coun. Brian Skakun guilty of violating BC's freedom of information and protection of privacy legislation when he leaked a confidential personnel document to a local media outlet.

In a decision issued Tuesday, Justice Selwyn Romilly found provincial court judge Ken Ball did not err in law in finding Skakun was an officer of a public body who did not have the so-called "whistleblower" defence available to him under the Charter or common law. Romilly also found Ball did not conduct the trial in a biased manner and his findings of credibility against Skakun were reasonable.

The decision comes after a day-long hearing before Romilly was held at the courthouse last month.

Skakun was unavailable for comment Tuesday. His lawyer, Jon Duncan, said they have 30 days to file a notice of appeal and whether that step will be made should be known in about a week once the decision has been reviewed.

During the appeal hearing, Duncan went some way to recount the friction that emerged between him and Ball over the course of the 10-day trial that ended on May 24, 2011 with Ball fining Skakun $750.

But Romilly suggested Ball's "very slight hint of irritability and very slight hint of impatience" was understandable given it was a trial that should have taken no more than two days to complete.

Agreeing it's time to put the issue behind them, city councillors backed away in October 2011 from censuring and sanctioning Skakun after he delivered an apology for his actions. But Skakun also later said he would pursue an appeal.

"My case could have had

implications for elected officials across the country, it could set a huge, huge precedent," Skakun said at the time.

Skakun has admitted he never put forth a formal motion to council to have the document, related to the working environment at the Prince George RCMP, made public.

A key issue in the trial was a confession Skakun made to then fellow councillor Debora Munoz. Ball accepted testimony from Munoz over that of Skakun in regards to when he appeared to have leaked the document, which was key to determining whether the charge had been brought against him within one year of committing the act.