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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4371285_web1_Joy-Sul-001.jpg\")
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Joy Sul, mayor of the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be very clear about one thing: I am not seeking a windfall, damages, or any personal financial gain. I am simply seeking reimbursement for the legal costs I actually incurred while successfully defending my elected position.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor, who was elected in that role in 2018, found herself in disagreement with five council colleagues one year later over a wastewater treatment project for which she was a vocal opponent.<\/p>\n
The situation escalated when the group of councillors voted to enact a bylaw that prevented Sul from chairing council meetings and acting as the municipality\u2019s spokesperson.<\/p>\n
She retaliated with legal action weeks later, arguing the councillors acted outside their authority, violated the Municipal Act and breached a duty of fairness owed to her.<\/p>\n
Sul lost her initial claim but later won on appeal in 2023, when Manitoba\u2019s highest court ruled in her favour. The bylaw was struck down and her powers were restored.<\/p>\n
None of the councillors involved in the legal battle remain in office, except for Sul, who was re-elected in 2022.<\/p>\n
In July 2024, Sul submitted an indemnification request to the RM to recover legal costs she was \u201cforced to undertake at great personal upfront expense,\u201d the new lawsuit says.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefending my position as mayor came at a significant personal cost. I paid those legal bills myself because I believed it was important to stand up for the office that the residents of St. Andrews elected me to hold,\u201d Sul said in her statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the only member of council elected by the people of this municipality at large and I was given the mandate to chair and lead the elected councillors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her claim says the RM of St. Andrews did not respond to the request until June 9, when the municipal council unanimously shot it down in a vote.<\/p>\n
Sul said she was disappointed by that decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wanted to be back in court. I made efforts to resolve this matter without further litigation, but I have been left with no other practical option than to ask the court to determine whether the municipality must meet what I believe to be their legal obligations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her claim argues the defendants acted \u201cwithout any regard to procedural fairness or natural justice\u201d and cites a provision in the Municipal Act that outlines the rules of indemnity for council members who successfully defend themselves in legal proceedings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe council and the municipality were biased against the plaintiff and have at many times acted in inappropriate, divisive and hostile manners toward her,\u201d the claim says.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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Sul is seeking a declaration that council\u2019s vote to dismiss her application for indemnity violated the Municipal Act and is therefore void.<\/p>\n
She asked the courts to order council to reconsider the decision and to provide them with judicial directions outlining their obligations under the act.<\/p>\n
The RM of St. Andrews declined to comment Monday.<\/p>\n
Court records show the RM has not filed a statement of defence.<\/p>\n
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Tyler Searle Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press\u2019s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic\u2019s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022.\u00a0Read more about Tyler<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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