Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz’s conflict of interest case heads to court

A conflict of interest case against a Canadian mayor will go to court this week, threatening to strip him of his seat after one resident claimed he used taxpayer money to benefit a company he owned at the time.

Relax, Toronto. It isn’t yours. It is Winnipeg’s mayor set to stand in front of the firing squad in an entirely metaphorical sense this week.

A suit against Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz will go to court on Tuesday, making the two-term mayor the latest civic leader to face a court-imposed end to his time in office.

Katz is being challenged by Winnipeg restaurateur Joe Chen, who claims it was inappropriate to hold a city hall Christmas party at a restaurant owned by Katz – and then pay the bill with public money.

[ Related: Katz lauds Winnipeg's progress, hints he might run again ]

For those of you catching up on the circumstances of the case, they are summarized here by the Winnipeg Free Press:

Of course, no such case it cut and dry. Katz’s lawyer maintains the mayor did not breach Manitoba's Municipal Council Conflict of Interest Act. Robert Tapper has also struck back against Chen, claiming he violated confidentiality rules by publicly discussing a settlement offer.

What is important in cases like these is that the allegations are treated with serious attention and care, and that the case is not sidetracked by side shows like say, where huge advertorial billboards are allowed to be posted.

CTV Winnipeg recently reported on a bizarre side battle over the publicizing of tomorrow’s court date. The network says Chen attempted to post details about the court battle on a recycling container outside city hall, where he currently pays to post an advertisement for his restaurant.

However, the city’s public works department blocked the move, prompting a sympathetic councillor to pay for large, campaign-style posters that are now standing outside Chen’s restaurant and the councillor’s home.

[ More Brew: Toronto’s Rob Ford tops list of Canadian mayors in turmoil ]

Katz's case may not be getting the national attention that his Toronto counterpart Rob Ford received when he faced conflict-of-interest allegations, but at least the foolishness quotient is being maintained.

Katz joins Ford, as well as London Mayor Joe Fontana and former Halifax mayor Peter Kelly to be accused of impropriety in the past year. The mayors of Montreal and Laval, Que., also recently stepped down amid a massive investigation into scandal and corruption.

If the judge decides Katz did breach conflict of interest laws he could be ordered out of office, much like Ford was earlier this year. In Ford’s case, an appeal overturned the decision. Should a similar verdict be reached in Winnipeg, an appeal would most assuredly follow.