Jerry Kaiser said he was the deacon of a religious sect — he's not.

He built a garage he wasn't allowed to build, then told the court it was for "ironic farm equipment storage."

He painted a cow on the structure, because permits aren't needed for sheds to keep livestock.

Kaiser said he was making a statement against what he describes as "idiotic" local bylaws which he believes favour farmers in rural Saskatchewan. That was before things got serious, with a legal battle that went on for four years.

"It's a free country and changes don't happen [if you] just sit back and say, 'Well, I guess I have to give up,'" said Kaiser.

"You can't give up."

Since 2015, Kaiser has been fighting the Rural Municipality of Baildon, Sask., over zoning and construction bylaws. The RM is located about 80 kilometres southwest of Regina.

Kaiser built a garage on his property without the required permit, which he said was a statement against the local building bylaw that provides some exemptions for farmers. He lived in the old church on his property when it only had council approval for commercial use, not residential. Then he built an art installation to honour female settlers on a concrete pad he didn't have a permit to build.

Every time the RM tried to stop him, Kaiser fought back.

So far, Kaiser's legal battles with the RM have cost him at least $18,000. In 2018, a judge described his litigation as "improper and relentless."

The RM has spent more than $135,000 fighting him in court. According to the RM's lawyer, the cost of dealing with Kaiser has made up about 80 per cent of all of Baildon's legal fees between 2015 and 2019.

Lauren Wihak, legal counsel for the RM, said the municipality has continued to try to enforce the bylaws.

"If the message is sent that the RM doesn't really take its own rules seriously, then it creates a dangerous precedent for other ratepayers who may not think that these rules need to be followed," said Wihak.

"And the reality is that they do."

Jerry Kaiser breached a local bylaw by building a concrete pad for a monument to female settlers without a permit. (Submitted by Jerry Kaiser)

Kaiser said the catalyst for the dispute was a new building bylaw, passed in 2014, which interfered with his plans to renovate the old church on his property. It was originally built by his grandfather in 1912, and then rebuilt after a fire in 1924. He said the new bylaw enforced standards he was unable to meet for financial reasons, but the same standards did not apply to some farm buildings.

Under the bylaw, buildings used exclusively for the storage of farm equipment, livestock or grain don't need a permit. Farmers do still need a permit to build a residence, but they do not have to pay the standard permit fee of $100.

Kaiser started building the garage without the proper permits, having refused to pay the fee because he said it was discriminatory against non-farmers. He described the garage as a work of satirical art in protest of the bylaw.

When the RM issued a stop work order on the garage, Kaiser appealed it to both the provincial Development Appeal Board and the Planning Appeals Committee.

That's basically what my art is, is satire poking fun at stuffed shirts. - Jerry Kaiser, land-owner

The RM again issued stop work orders when it found out Kaiser was living in the old church hall building, which wasn't zoned as a residential building. It did the same when he built the art installation on a concrete pad without a permit.

Kaiser appealed every order and, when they were dismissed by the relevant boards and committees, he took his fight to the Court of Queen's Bench in Moose Jaw.

Among other points, he argued that the RM's building bylaw discriminates against non-farming residents because of the permit exemptions for farmers. Kaiser said it violated his charter rights, including his right to freedom of expression, and he asked the court to thwart the RM's attempts to make him comply. He represented himself in court.

Judge says Kaiser's litigation is 'abuse of process'

The judge disagreed with Kaiser's interpretation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a written decision issued in November 2018, Justice Jeffery Kalmakoff described Kaiser's claims as "vexatious" and "an abuse of process."

Kaiser said the justice system acts on the rules and regulations which have been passed by the RMs.

"And the RMs don't provide fair and equitable regulations," said Kaiser.

"There could be one regulation in one RM, a different regulation in another. One RM can give a special break to people in agriculture and they can be especially hard on people in small holdings. It is my right to work within the system and try to change it."

A 'cheeky bovine' and a 'parody of a farm barn shed'

Along the way, Kaiser has poked fun at the RM's bylaws. The cow he painted on his "parody of a farm barn shed" was a statement against the regulations.

"That's basically what my art is, is satire poking fun at stuffed shirts," said Kaiser.

"It's a cheeky bovine that's satirically meant to draw attention to how idiotic these regulations are."

He said he was "light-hearted" about the RM's requests early on, not realizing how seriously they were taking his non-compliance.

When he got a letter saying his church was being assessed as a residence, not a church, he told the RM he was the deacon of a small religious sect, which he is not.

But Kaiser said his previous efforts to take the RM to court were serious as a way to fight against laws that are unjust.

Kaiser's case dismissed

Despite losing in court against the RM in the Court of Queen's Bench in December 2018, Kaiser still did not comply with its bylaws. He continued to fight until this June, when he cancelled his previous applications against the RM.

Wihak said the RM of Baildon was pleased with a court decision that Kaiser should have to pay $10,000 in costs, adding that is a substantial amount for a case like this. He also had to pay $8,000 in costs in 2018.

"It is a positive outcome. We were able to get Mr Kaiser to agree that he was required to comply with the zoning requirements within Baildon and that was important," said Wihak.

Although Kaiser has had to abandon his legal battle against the RM's rules and regulations, he plans to run for council in an attempt to make changes from within.

"What is a democracy if people don't stand up for what they believe?" said Kaiser.

"You have to do it."