Northern community reacts after mayor and council booted by the province
Black River-Matheson no longer has a sitting town council, after it failed to meet for more than 60 days due to lack of attendance.
The province disbanded council yesterday and the town will now have to hold a new election.
Town hall has had an empty council chamber since January — and now it will stay that way until residents elect a new mayor and six new councillors.
A coalition of three now-former councillors forced the move by boycotting meetings, saying it was either this or living with a “broken” council.
“We couldn’t get results, we couldn’t get proper guidance from our staff,” said former councillor Dave Dyment.
“Mismatched information out of our reports and untimely reports. We just felt that we weren’t running the town and that the town was actually running us.”
This comes after high tensions in the community over a 34 per cent tax increase, the ongoing municipal worker strike and three councillors resigning in the last year.
Black River-Matheson no longer has a sitting town council, after it failed to meet for more than 60 days due to lack of attendance. (Photo from video)
Former Mayor Doug Bender was not available for comment, but the vacant council chamber comes with mixed reactions.
“I do not believe that they ran for (office) to end up here, I really don’t,” said Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof.
“And so we have to look deeper to see why, why they ended up here.”
Vanthof said while he’s seen unrest within councils before, he hasn’t seen Matheson’s level of public bitterness.
Byelection will be held
Now without a mayor, Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, will appoint someone to take over council duties for the time being.
“An appointee will be in place until the byelection is complete and a new council is in place,” Calandra wrote in a letter.
“The appointee will exercise the duties and obligations of council in an accountable and transparent manner.”
No word on when the byelection will take place, but Dyment is hoping more people will run than last time, when everyone but himself ran unopposed.
“That way, we’re getting a broader spectrum of people to choose from,” he said.
“Difference of views from different councillors, so we’re not falling into the exact same position.”
Dyment said the new council’s priorities will have to start with transparency, positivity and solving the town’s immediate issues.
And he said he would like to be part of that council -- as the community’s next mayor.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
'Mr. Trump doesn't worry us', says Canadian ambassador
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues the 'Team Canada' charm offensive to U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, Canada's ambassador to the United States downplayed the effect of another Trump presidency on Canada.
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.