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A judge has granted a temporary injunction that stops the Alberta government from dismissing the majority of members of the county council in Thorhild, Alta.

Earlier this week, Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee decided to remove three councillors over what it called infighting, conflicts of interest and poor decision-making.

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However, the injunction granted Friday means the councillors will stay on council until March 18.

Provincial officials said they would not comment on the temporary stay of proceedings as the case is before the courts.

Larivee has said the councillors refused to comply with a directive to hire a chief administrative officer with experience.

Rather than pick from a government-approved shortlist of administrators, the three councillors instead hired former Conservative MP Brian Storseth in February.

“(They) chose to hire someone who was not on that list (after) the HR firm made it clear that that individual did not have the skills and experience to fulfil that (post), said Larivee.

The issue dates back almost two years, to June 2014, when the province received a petition from 776 county residents, about 20 per cent of the population, urging an inquiry into how the county was being governed.

The government eventually hired a third-party firm, which last September submitted a report that painted a picture of a fractured council wracked by infighting.

The firm reported the exchange of angry, accusatory, occasionally offensive emails, with councillors publicly challenging each other to “settle conflicts outside.”