Local councillors boycott meetings in northern Ont. town in hopes of forcing a byelection
The Township of black River-Matheson is broken.
That’s what three local councillors said in a news release Monday, saying council and staff are not working in the best interests of their taxpayers.
Citing grievances related to a 34-per-cent tax increase made without public consultation, Coun. Dave Dyment told CTV News that he and two fellow councillors will not attend council meetings in an effort to force a byelection and form a new council.
This after three earlier meetings were cancelled due to lack of attendance, tumultuous union negotiations — and a public gathering last week criticizing the township’s conduct.
“Our last election, I was the only councillor that was voted for, the other six members were all acclaimed,” Dyment said.
“You don’t really have as much community say, it’s more of a personal say, as to what you want to do. I think, with a re-election, we’re going to have a lot of interest and the people that are going to run will be people that are there for the community. We have over 3,000 people that need to be heard, not just told what is going to happen.”
Business owner Pauline Francis said concerns have been ignored by the current council.
“For the past year, they’re just being ignored,” Francis said.
“In fact, the township has hired, with taxpayers’ money, an investigating company, to investigate its residents. But that’s not doing any justice for the people. We just want transparency and we want our town back, that’s the bottom line.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
A byelection is triggered when a council fails to meet for at least 60 days due to lack of attendance. It has been 55 days since the town’s last regular council meeting.
Mayor Doug Bender was not available for comment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.