BLACK RIVER-MATHESON - Black River-Matheson is facing a shift in its infrastructure services department as the director exits the township.
The municipality made the announcement on July 18 that James Mousseau, effective immediately, has left its organization. A search for a new director of infrastructure services has begun.
“The township thanks James for his services as the director of infrastructure services and wishes him well in his future endeavours,” the township wrote in a statement.
On July 24, CAO Chris Wray responded to TimminsToday noting the municipality “will not be commenting,” while Mousseau did not respond.
According to Mousseau’s LinkedIn, he started working for the municipality in July 2023. He took to his Facebook on July 18 to explain the situation.
On July 3, Mousseau said he received a two-day unpaid suspension to be served on concurrent Wednesdays after correcting some “misconceptions and answering some questions and concerns” from residents on Facebook “in an effort to be more transparent and repair the relationship between the township and its residents.”
Mousseau said he declined an offer to waive the suspension in exchange for removing the posts.
“A modified offer asking for a commitment to not post to Facebook in the future was similarly declined. The disciplinary letter clearly stated that future violations would be met with termination,” he wrote.
“After a tremendous amount of consideration, I made the decision that I was at odds with the current environment and saw no possibility of change on the horizon.”
He served his first day of his unpaid suspension on July 8 and his second day on July 17.
“At the end of the day (July 17), I received an email with a letter attached; my termination with immediate effect. I was taken aback at being blindsided with an email, denied the courtesy of a simple meeting or phone call. The letter stated termination for cause, and that cause was insubordination, gross misconduct, and being ungovernable. There was also an accusation of attempting to undermine the authority of the CAO,” he wrote.
“In my opinion, there is no validity to this, unless viewed from a very narrow scope. Having spent almost 8 months in a labour dispute, it was time for everyone to start talking, even if that would be uncomfortable at first. I chose to take that initiative, which I believed was in the best interests of the township. I still believe that now.”
“And we made a little progress, didn’t we? Some small, but positive, impacts that saw us move from accusations and combativeness to civil discourse, that educated and informed on some contentious issues. We shared our viewpoints, and contributed opinions and solutions to longstanding matters. If nothing else, we engaged with each other, something that’s been missing for a long time. I’m proud of us. It was a big first step.”
In February, a statement from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1490 alleges that two different workers were hit by two different scabs driving a pickup truck through the picket line.
As a result of the incident, Mousseau is facing charges for criminal harassment and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. This comes after reportedly speeding up at a stop sign, narrowly avoiding the workers on strike.
The union workers were locked out in October 2023 due to a labour dispute that turned into a strike in January of this year. They returned to work in June.
For inquiring related to infrastructure services, the township said they can be directed to Wray at [email protected] or 705-273-2313 (ext. 321) or 705-914-0551.
