Nikki Kaur's lawyers say her dismissal from Brampton job was a 'targeted retaliation'

Nikki Kaur is seen in this undated photo. (Submitted)

Lawyers representing defeated mayoral candidate Nikki Kaur are alleging that her dismissal from her director job at Brampton city hall is unlawful and a “targeted retaliation.”

In a letter to Brampton’s acting city solicitor Diana Soos, obtained by CP24, Kaur’s lawyers wrote that her termination is a part of a “larger conspiracy” against their client and involved senior staff at city hall and the mayor’s office.

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“Specifically, Ms. Kaur’s termination is the culmination of a long conspiracy among senior City officials to silence her persistent efforts to expose wrongdoing and possible corruption in the City’s administration,” wrote lawyer Frank Portman of Massey LLP.

“This conspiracy included her 2021 dismissal and subsequent reinstatement, and was rooted in her recent mayoral campaign.”

Kaur was the city’s director of strategic projects, planning & building economic development. She said she was “terminated” on Tuesday “without explanation or notice,” alleging she was being silenced after making allegations of wrongdoing and mismanagement at city hall.

Kaur first made the accusations in 2021 and was fired in the aftermath but was later reinstated. She went on a leave of absence to run against Brown for mayor.

Kaur, who billed herself as a candidate who could “clean up” city hall, lost to Brown on Monday.

Brampton mayor, Patrick Brown, speaks during a press conference to announce his intention to re-run for mayorship, at city hall in Brampton, Ont., on Monday, July 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

In the preservation letter, Portman confirmed that Kaur is preparing to sue the City of Brampton and is asking the city to safely keep all documents and records in any format related to Kaur’s termination this year and her attempted firing in 2021.

The letter went to say "we expect that you will take immediate and proactive steps to preserve the records of the Mayor’s Office and in particular Mr. Brown’s records."

“The city is required to proactively take steps to ensure that the aforementioned documents are preserved for the purposes of future discovery," Portman wrote.

Her lawyers are also asking the city to suspend automatic deletion or overwriting protocols that could jeopardize the preservation of the documents.

BROWN RESPONDS

On Wednesday, Brown’s office refused to comment about reports of Kaur’s termination, as it is a personnel matter

But in an interview with Newstalk 1010's John Moore earlier, Brown denied having any involvement in Kaur's firing.

"So that would be a decision of the administration. That's not a council decision," Brown said.

"Ultimately, the CAO (chief administration officer) will make the best decisions that he thinks are required for the city."

Brown added that the mayoral election was not the only race Kaur entered in the last year and a half, and said "there was a level of distraction."

"And she had lost the confidence of our colleagues at City Hall and senior staff. But ultimately, I don't want to speculate, and that's for the CAO or the HR department to answer," Brown said.

CP24 has reached out to the City of Brampton but has yet to hear back.

With files from CP24's Cristina Tenaglia