BLACK RIVER-MATHESON - Three Northern Ontario councillors are hoping to force a byelection.
Black River-Matheson Ward 3 Coun. Dave Dyment, Ward 5 Coun. Louise Gadoury and Ward 6 Coun. Steven Campsall believe that the council has broken down and issued a letter to the community on Monday (March 18).
“We have seen first-hand how our council has been blocked in trying to advance the priorities our constituents elected us to pursue. Instead of a government that works for the people, we have come face-to-face with what looks to us like a government that works for itself,” they wrote in the letter.
If a municipal council can’t hold a meeting for 60 days because of a lack of quorum, the Minister of Municipal Affairs may declare all of the seats vacant, triggering a byelection.
The three councillors, Dyment told TimminsToday, have hired a lawyer, whom they are paying for out-of-pocket.
The last time that council publicly met was Jan. 23.
Its Feb. 13 meeting was cancelled due to a CUPE rally that day. Short of quorum, the Feb. 27 and March 12 meetings were cancelled. They did meet in-camera on Feb. 20.
SEE: Matheson closes town hall, cancels council meeting for 'safety concerns'
RELATED: One member short of quorum, Matheson council meeting cancelled
The township has a seven-person council and at least four members must be present for the meeting to happen.
The letter from the three councillors, Dyment said, is to let the community of about 2,500 people know what’s going on.
Council is too divided to accomplish anything, Gadoury told TimminsToday.
“We're at a standstill. Our council, we're divided. We can't move forward anymore. I don't see how else we could go from here, because we're not we're not making progress. We're not doing anything. For anybody,” she said.
Dyment said he believes the town is spending too much time on negativity.
“Way too much time. And way too much time reviewing Facebook, calling out individuals on Facebook, and then having to write letters and using taxpayers’ lawyer to send letters and defend staff,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we have way too many press releases and letters going out from our CAO and our lawyer stating, you know, defendants for bullying and defendants for this and defendants for that. It's just getting to a point where that's all our staff is doing is doing that.”
A lot has happened in the township within the last year.
Last May, council approved a 34.2 per cent tax hike, resulting in residents establishing a petition and turning to the province for help.
In August, Ward 6 Coun. Kim Druer stepped down.
In October, 14 municipal workers were locked out by the town. In January 2024, the lockout ended and turned into an ongoing strike.
SEE: Black River-Matheson Township council approves 34% budget hike
Ward 2 Coun. Keith Neal resigned last month, though it hasn’t been accepted yet because there hasn’t been a regular council meeting.
On March 12 about 150 residents met to discuss the budget increase and petition, public and financial accountability and transparency, town administration, as well as the ongoing strike.
RELATED: 'We want our town back': Ongoing issues bring Matheson residents together
The 2024 budget is a sticking point for Dyment. The last time council met, he said they were still talking about a timeline for it.
“A budget in June is no good. By that time, you can't put gravel on the roads or you can't purchase equipment,” he said.
“We have instances where we need to purchase large ticket items and because we were, and I quote, understaffed, the appeals aren't being sent out and the next we know we're paying an extra premium because we missed the cutoff deadline for a certain price.”
Dyment said he signed on to council for the long haul.
“And I might go down in history as the worst councilman to never do anything, but at least I'm sticking my neck out, and Louise and Steve are, to try and fix it, and this is the only way we know how,” he said.
Going forward, Dyment said they will continue to boycott council meetings until the Ministry steps in.
“At which point we will have a re-election with seven new members of council, all who, I guarantee, will be elected and not appointed,” he said.
“And in doing so, you're going to get people that are more interested in moving the town forward rather than being acclaimed. When you're acclaimed, you're not really talking to many community members.”
Dyment said he lives and works in the community and has no issues talking to residents.
“Because that's the people that we're working for. We're not working for the three people at the township office. We're working for the 3,000 people that pay for the township office,” he said.
Gadoury said they’re not doing this for themselves.
“We're doing this because we care about our community. And we want the community to benefit,” she said.
Mayor Doug Bender told TimminsToday he can’t comment until he “has a chance to sort out this situation.”
