Lowe, Ogden To Pay Their Own Court Costs

A judge has ordered those involved in the Saint John Harbour election results court case to pay their own legal fees.

Liberal MLA Gerry Lowe said he spent more than $120,000 defending his victory in the September 2018 election.

Lowe wanted former Progressive Conservative candidate Barry Ogden, his campaign manager, and the chief electoral officer to reimburse him.

Ogden and his camp, who racked up more than $100,000 in legal fees, said the chief electoral officer should pay Lowe’s legal costs, along with theirs.

But Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Hugh McLellan said he cannot order the chief electoral officer to pay legal costs for Lowe and Ogden, even though they were “innocent victims of errors at the polls.”

“There is no legislation in force in New Brunswick which would permit an award of costs in this case against the chief electoral officer or the province,” McLellan wrote in his 30-page decision released Friday.

“Absent such legislation, there are no cases in which a chief electoral officer has been found to be legally responsible for the errors and mistakes of election officials or had to pay costs because of their errors.”

Court Case

Lowe won the Saint John Harbour seat by 10 votes in the Sept. 24, 2018, election, and the result was upheld in a recount.

But Ogden, alleging more than 71 instances of voting irregularities during the election, applied to have the result overturned.

After several preliminary hearings and a five-day trial, McLellan said he could only find nine “illegal” votes and dismissed Ogden’s motion.

McLellan rejected eight ballots cast by people who did not live in Saint John Harbour and a single vote of a person with health issues who was able to vote twice.

Reaction To Judge’s Ruling

Ogden said although the outcome was not what he was hoping for, he stands by his decision to raise concerns about the election.

“There were serious questions and discrepancies that needed to be examined in service to the public and for the protection of our democracy,” said Ogden in a statement.

What has to be hoped for now is that the chief electoral officer will proceed with systemic changes to improve the reliability of electoral processes in New Brunswick and increase public confidence.”

Chief Electoral Officer Kim Poffenroth, who also released a statement, said they respect the court’s decision and will proceed accordingly.

“At this point, we do not have the final cost of legal expenses for Elections New Brunswick’s involvement in this case,” said Poffenroth. “We will offer no further comment on this matter.”