Botched appeal argued in court for Saskatoon police officers fired after off-duty party

A judge is considering whether two Saskatoon police officers can appeal their firings, after the lawyer they hired to file the appeal made a procedural error.

Former police constables Dylan Kemp and Jason Garland were fired last fall after an investigation related to a wild off-duty house party.

Eight days after their dismissal, their lawyer Steve Seiferling filed appeal notices with the Saskatoon Police Service and the police union, but not with the Saskatchewan Police Commission, the body responsible for hearing such appeals.

When Seiferling inquired six weeks later about the appeal, the executive director of the police commission said that was the first he'd heard of it, and since it was now past the 30-day filing deadline, the commission couldn't hear the appeal.

Seiferling is asking the Court of King's Bench to make an order that would allow the appeal. On Friday, he and lawyers for the Ministry of Community Safety (formerly corrections, policing and public safety), the police commission and the police service were in a Saskatoon courtroom to make their arguments.

"What it comes down to in this case is constables Kemp and Garland should not be punished for my inadvertent error," Seiferling told Justice Natasha Crooks. "We received clear instructions … The appeal was filed within the time period. It was just not procedurally filed with the right party."

Counsel for the police commission, Charita Ohashi, argued that the commission is constrained by the legislation, and in the early stages is simply the registry to receive the appeal, which it did not receive.

The ministry's lawyer, Christoph Meier, acknowledged that if the judge agrees the appeal can still be filed, the order to allow that would be directed at the ministry — to appoint a hearing officer. However, he argued, the law is clear that there is no jurisdiction to extend the period of appeal.

Kristin MacLean made similar arguments on behalf of the police service, including that when there's an appeal process set out in legislation, it must be strictly observed.

Crooks reserved her decision to an unspecified future date.