A petition is circulating in Norman Wells seeking the resignation of the mayor, town council and the senior administrative officer, and for a byelection to be held.
Last week, the Town of Norman Wells announced it was withdrawing a lawsuit that had dragged on for close to four years, alleging fraud against former senior administrative officer Catherine Mallon and former mayor Nathan Watson.
READ MORE: /news/town-of-norman-wells-drops-lawsuit-against-former-sao/
The Town of Norman Wells didnSA国际影视传媒檛 respond to questions from SA国际影视传媒 on Monday.
On Jan. 27, the municipality posted another statement to its website acknowledging an active legal claim by Mallon for outstanding pay and benefits from her tenure as SAO.
SA国际影视传媒淭he matter is still before the courts and, we are not at liberty to discuss our evidence in detail,SA国际影视传媒� the town stated.
It added that itSA国际影视传媒檚 aware of MallonSA国际影视传媒檚 stated intent to pursue a claim of malicious prosecution.
SA国际影视传媒淲e remain satisfied that the town had and continues to have meritorious evidence supporting our original claim and we will vigorously defend ourselves against any such lawsuit. As to the EPR (Yellowknife, an accounting firm) report, we can say that all of our evidence to date is that MACA (Department of Municipal and Community Affairs) commissioned EPR to conduct a forensic audit to be relied upon by the town for the purpose of litigation. Should the report be used as evidence in Ms. MallonSA国际影视传媒檚 case or subsequent lawsuit, we look forward to hearing EPRSA国际影视传媒檚 explanation for any alleged deficiencies in the audit process and why they felt compelled to recant from an audit and report they were contracted by MACA to provide.SA国际影视传媒�
EPR issued an apology to Mallon in November and asserted that its work in this matter was not at the level of a forensic audit.
However, SA国际影视传媒 has seen a copy of EPR YellowknifeSA国际影视传媒檚 Report to the Town of Norman Wells, dated June 11, 2019, which reads in part: SA国际影视传媒淭he attached report is the final copy of the forensic analysis of the Hamlet of Norman Wells former SAO (Catherine Mallon) payroll and expenditures as deliverable under contract #SC-MAC01-4599.SA国际影视传媒�
MACASA国际影视传媒檚 request for proposals in October 2018 sought SA国际影视传媒渟ervices from an audit firm to conduct a forensic audit of certain municipal departments and/or accountsSA国际影视传媒A国际影视传媒�
The town stated last week that based on EPRSA国际影视传媒檚 November apology to Mallon, SA国际影视传媒渨e have determined it no longer prudent to pursue the current course of (legal) action.SA国际影视传媒�
MACA also did not provide immediate comment on Monday to SA国际影视传媒.
The petition in Norman Wells requests an independent inquiry be held and a forensic audit conducted regarding this situation.
Mallon called on Premier Caroline Cochrane last week to launch a public inquiry into the ordeal.
