COCHRANE – The former Cochrane top staffer is suing the municipality and mayor for $875,000.
Monika Malherbe — who worked for the municipality for more than 27 years and served as CAO from 2022 to 2025 — has filed the lawsuit against the Town of Cochrane and Mayor Peter Politis. She is seeking compensation for damages related to alleged harassment, defamation and emotional distress, along with additional damages tied to lost benefits and pension impacts.
The allegations in the claim have not been proven in court.
Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis acknowledged the legal action in a March 29 statement.
While he said he “must respect” the legal process, he provided what he called important context for residents — that he’s consistently followed council’s direction in respect to the items in the lawsuit, that he’s had council’s consistent support throughout the “challenging matters”, and that the town is committed to transparency and “the proper exercise of its statutory authority.”
“The town and I have full confidence in the legal system and do not intend to litigate this matter other than before a judge,” he wrote in the statement.
Politis reiterated to TimminsToday that he could not speak about the matter at this time.
“At this point, I can’t speak openly on it. One day I will,” he said.
Malherbe also declined to comment.
The statement of claim alleges that Politis engaged in a prolonged campaign of bullying and harassment following his election in October 2022, which the lawsuit states led to significant emotional distress and damage to Malherbe’s reputation.
The legal action follows previous workplace-related findings involving the mayor and senior staff.
In January 2024, the town’s integrity commissioner ruled that Politis had bullied and harassed two senior municipal managers, including Malherbe, leading to his pay being suspended for 90 days.
SEE: Cochrane mayor bullied, harassed senior managers: Integrity commissioner
At the time, both Malherbe and former director of community services Jason Boyer had filed complaints alleging harassment, intimidation and bullying.
Boyer later filed his own lawsuit against the municipality in 2024, claiming he was forced to resign due to workplace harassment.
SEE: Former Cochrane staffer suing town for $1.1M, claims mayor ‘forced’ him to resign
From 2022-24, the lawsuit says three out of four director-level executives reporting to Malherbe left their jobs, “citing Mr. Politis’ abusive workplace behaviour,” and noting her team absorbed a “substantial amount” of extra work.
After the integrity commissioner’s findings, the lawsuit alleges that Politis’s behaviour escalated, becoming “more blatant and retaliatory” against Malherbe. The document says council didn’t intervene and enabled the mayor’s “inappropriate workplace conduct”.
In July 2024, a consultant was hired to conduct a performance evaluation of Malherbe.
“The contract with the consultant specifically contemplated the termination of Ms. Malherbe as CAO and that the consultant would provide services regarding ‘Change Management and Workforce Restoration’, including ‘initiat(ing) the process of hiring a professional executive search firm to assist in recruiting a permanent CAO,” reads the statement of claim.
The documents allege the consultant arranged at least five in-camera council meetings to garner support to fire Malherbe, and that Malherbe wasn’t allowed to attend.
Before her employment with the town ended in April 2025, she had filed an Ontario Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and code of conduct complaint with the town, and a code of conduct complaint with the municipal integrity commissioner.
According to the legal documents, the OHSA investigation substantiated her workplace harassment claims, Politis was required to undergo remedial workplace harassment training. The code of conduct complaint is still under investigation.
Following Malherbe’s departure, an acting CAO was appointed. Malherbe is now the deputy clerk and deputy treasurer for the nearby Township of Fauquier-Strickland.
SEE: Cochrane CAO no longer with municipality
RELATED: Staffing shakeup continues in Fauquier amid ongoing financial crisis
Malherbe was “blindsided” in December 2025, when the Town of Cochrane issued a news release about an investigation into the alleged misappropriation of $2 million of public funds. At the time, the mayor alleged that it appeared to have occurred under the oversight of the town’s former CAO, financial department, and previous council.
In the lawsuit, Malherbe “categorically denies” any involvement. It says she was not contacted before the news release to respond to the allegations or to warn her that it was being issued. The misappropriation, according to the legal documents, started before Malherbe’s time as CAO and had been the subject of civil and criminal proceedings for several years, and Politis was aware of that since assuming office in 2022.
With an election in October 2026, the lawsuit claims the news release was “an attempt to cultivate political capital and sway public opinion at Ms. Malherbe’s expense” ahead of it.
Malherbe has sent a legal letter to the municipality and Politis demanding a retraction and public apology, but it was refused.
The lawsuit seeks various damages, including compensation for lost income, reputational harm and emotional distress, along with other remedies determined by the court.
For the human rights code breaches, the document states the preferred remedy is for Malherbe to be reinstated in her former position or a comparable executive position, citing the “strong likelihood that Mr. Politis will not be re-elected”.
The case is expected to proceed through the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. A statement of defence has not yet been filed.
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative
Original Published on Mar 31, 2026 at 13:50
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