spent $25,000 and only have a $750 fine. Would of saved alot of money just pleading guilty and paying the fine.

@DPJ - it was about having his day in court and getting all the dirt out.

What dirt?

Run for Mayor Brian, you got my vote.

Well, for one, faxman, I think the usual soap opera dirt of office affairs that are not supposed to happen in the real world and thus people on this side of the Atlantic try to keep them hidden when uncovered ;-)

Then again, I could be wrong and don't really understand what all the fuss is about.

Of course, I know the judge must have sat and sat and sat, just contemplating the fine. $2,000 max. So this is $750 worth. Makes me wonder what $100 would look like and what $1,750 would look like.

These must be tough decisions. I would hate to be a judge.

Ho hum. Who cares ? Small potatoes. So Jon Duncan is the winner with $25,000 in his jeans! That is the real travesty of justice that a lawyer can charge so much for nothing !

Problem with lawyers they can double bill, basically bill 2 or more clients at the same time, like printing something for one client and emailling another client at the same time, time charged to both clients at the same time. No wonder their offices are on the top floors of these A level office buildings and very fancy decorations.

Lawyers charge for time. You are buying "expert" time with support staff bundled into the hourly rate.

No guarantees.

Wanna be a lawyer?

Lawyers are not the only ones who work that way.

We have medicare for doctors.

Maybe we should legacare for lawyers. ;-)

Now the civil suits finally start against him. Hopefully as well as Dahl Chambers the City of Prince George will see fit to sue Mr. Skakum.

Ladies and gentlemen;
you will note, some comments have been removed. The removal of one comment is to prevent the writer, and Opinion250 from being found in contempt of court. Under Canadian law, we simply aren't allowed to call the Judge names or make the kind of comments that were being made. The second comment was removed to protect the writer and Opinion250 from a libel action. Councillor Skakun has been found guilty of breaching the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act which is not a criminal conviction. To state otherwise would be both inaccurate and damaging.
Please be careful in your comments.
Elaine Macdonald

Skakun is a horses ass and should be ousted from city council now. I want to see what his supporters have to say. Just to see what kind of wing nuts support this moron!!!

Before you vote for Munoz or Skakun....from Oct 27 Citizen report on court testimony: "Court heard Munoz said Skakun leaked the report to the CBC in Aug. 2008 and told her he did it in Sept. 2008. She outlined her allegation in a meeting with then Mayor Colin Kinsley and city manager Derek Bates on Nov. 21, 2008, in which she also said Skakun slashed the tires of a vehicle, talked about suicide and made Munoz fear for her life."

Yes, Boon, some lawyers charge fees. Did he think he could get his client acquitted?
Don"t know how but yah, Jon should have known how his evidence would play in court. There are times when a lawyer should tell his client when to quit.
Judge Ball said he could not accept the evidence given by Skakun that he could not recall who he handed the report to at the CBC, "I do not believe him when he says he does not know to whom he gave the report". He said Skakun's testimony "was not reliable nor credible."
Therein lies the problem with Brians evidence and following that, his credibility and integrity. That's real harsh to hear, hope he treads the straight and narrow in future.
And Twinbell, Skakun is no moron, he's a hardworking guy who tried to do the right thing the wrong way. Walk a mile in his shoes, maybe you'll understand. Andplease don't call people names, when you do you're just crapping all over yourself.....

Brian for Mayor!

I for one would like to see an accounting of all of the Taxpayers dollars spent on this mess.

Many days of court costs and crown lawyers costs all finishing with Mr Skakun admitting that he willing handed the report to the media.

For a man who seems to pride himself on keeping a tight hold on city spending, he seems to have no problem using taxpayer funded court time to air his beefs.

Selfish in my opinion.

Get the clown out of city hall and into the circus !

Well put, Slim 2229. You voiced my thoughts.
metalman.

seriously...get all of these people out of positions of authority in our city...the shitty police leaders, impotent councilors, and the overpaid/under-skilled management running the City. Yah, you can twist things to make Skakun look like an "everyman's hero," but in reality we need and deserve better from all of our local leaders if we ever hope to improve our city and our region.

Good ppl in today's world don't want to work or be around all these corrupt, indecent, power hungry, greedy ppl. It has infested every layer of our society. Skakun for mayor? Who in their right mind can even vote for someone like that? He may be crusading to expose the dirty secrets of others, but I have learned in my young life that ppl like him usually have more than a few skeletons in their closets as well. Our entire city government needs a reality check.

I certainly would not want to be employed in a workplace, where the head honcho allows such crap to take place and does nothing to remedy it. Maybe Brian went about it the wrong way, but some action was taken.
Harrassment of employees by management is unacceptable, and the city should take responsibity, because if they were doing
their job, this would not have happened. Thanks Brian, at least you had the guts to do it. Too bad that you have to pay the price.

Well said Rogue...totally agree. Thank you!

Brian is not afraid to use a pitchfork! And thank gawd for that.

Every one of you who do not agree with what Brian did would be begging for someone like him to "stick up" for you if it was YOU who needed help!

WE’VE ALL FELT HELPLESS at sometime in our lives, at a time when we believed we were being wronged. Remember how it felt when NO ONE would listen to your side? That hurts quite a bit doesn't it? You feel as if you have nowhere to turn, or no one to turn too. But as soon as someone like Brian steps in to lend us their support or to defend us we feel an almost instant vindication, even without actually being vindicated. It's a feeling that calms us, gives us hope, and confirms our belief that we we’re right all along. Remember the feeling you had just knowing that someone was on your side at that time?

Feels damn good doesn’t it?

Well it only takes one person to make us feel that way and for a few municipal employees Brian was THAT guy! It must have really felt great knowing that someone, anyone, was willing to take a stand on their behalf.

Brian had to know in at least some small way that his actions may come back to haunt him.

But he did what he thought was necessary anyways. Bravo!

If you look back on history you could fill an encyclopaedia with people who have done all kinds of things in standing up for what they believed was right. Although there may have been controversy at the time, today many of them are celebrated for their efforts and personal sacrifices. At the time their efforts may have seemed unjustified, but today we are able to understand that in many cases it actually broke ground for the freedoms and rights many of us take for granted today.

There's an old saying... "If you want to clean out the barn you're going to have to throw around a little manure". Brian did just that! Thankfully he’s a man who is not afraid to use a pitchfork.

I applaud Brian for his courage and determination to expose what he thought was worth exposing.

So the next time you feel wronged (and it’ll happen) just remember how it would feel if someone (ANYONE) would just take your side!

I don't live in PG anymore but if I did he’d get my vote no matter what position he ran for.

Bravo Brian... you're a good man!

We want people to speak up when they see that things need to be known by the public and when they do they get nailed to a cross!
What a pathetic double standard!

I would like to commend Newtechguy on his comment. Brian was the only Councilor that would listen to the people in my neighbourhood with our street walker problem and the building of homeless shelters in our area. But listen was all he could do as no one backed him. As we were coming home from Jasper yesterday we were a few kilometers west and a couple of what looked like undesirables were hitch hiking and holding a big sign reading Prince George . We are being known as a place for the unwanted to go as we are providing so many services for them but then one feeds off the other, if you get my drift.