The lawsuit filed by a long-time former employee against the City of Trail is going to trial.
The judge in the Michelle McIsaac lawsuit was scheduled to start hearing five days of testimony in Kelowna on Mon June 16, but the case has been delayed until March 2 of next year.
The former Corporate Manager alleges wrongful dismissal.
In her statement of claim filed on Aug 23, 2023, McIsaac alleges a workplace bullying and harassment claim filed in Feb 2022 was substantiated by a third-party investigator.
The court document also stated that the behavior included Colleen Jones, one of the four city councillors named in the original claim and that it continued after she was elected mayor. Two of the other three councillors didn’t seek re-election, the other was defeated at the polls.
The newly elected council censured Jones in June 2023 for behavior “unbecoming of a member of city council” for the three code of conduct violations found by the third-party investigator.
The news release from the City of Trail also included a letter of apology from Jones.
“I am regretful for the harm that my actions have caused to staff, council, and the City of Trail. I have also apologized to council and the impacted individual,” it stated.
McIsaac called the apology to her “misrepresenting” and said the continued harassment amounted to a dismissal.
She is suing for her annual income of $123,967, pension contributions, benefits and court costs.
The city claims McIssac resigned on June 23, 2023 and was paid all wages and benefits until that date.
In its first statement of defense filed on Sept 14, 2023, the city said the specifics of McIssac’s bulling allegations were vague and she refused to take party in a neutral, third-party investigation to sort them out.
An amended statement of defense filed by the city on Mar 25, 2025 claims the former Corporate Manager was insubordinate, in a conflict of interest and accused McIsaac of trying to use improperly obtained privileged and confidential material to her advantage, which would have been just cause for termination.
McIsaac says the city didn’t respond to her out of court settlement offer last fall and is disappointed by how much the case is costing taxpayers.
The suit filed almost two years ago has cost the city about $43,000 in legal fees.
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