MATHESON - From council turnover to significant staffing changes, 2024 was a year of rebuilding and progress for the Township of Black River-Matheson, says its mayor.
As the township closes the book on 2024, Mayor Dave Dyment is reflecting on the highs and lows of the year and looking ahead to what 2025 may bring.
Dyment highlighted two major challenges faced by the township this year: the dissolving of the previous council by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) and significant staff turnover.
“The biggest low would be the fact that we had to have the ministry come in and disband our council,” Dyment said.
“It obviously affected the township in some ways, but we are working to turn the negative into a positive.”
The township also experienced turnover in senior staff, Dyment said. To address this, three new individuals have been hired.
Sonya Larsen, previously the township’s deputy treasurer, has been hired as its treasurer.
Gilles Giguère is the new director of public services and has experience from Cochrane and as a councillor in Iroquois Falls, Dyment said.
HongJi Lei, the new town manager/clerk, is transitioning from the role as executive assistant to the CAO.
While Larsen has already started the new role, Giguère and Lei will start their positions in January.
The by-election held earlier this year, which saw more than 20 candidates run for council, was another notable event, Dyment said. While these kinds of elections are uncommon, there was great community engagement.
SEE: How many people voted in Matheson's byelection? The numbers are in
2024 highlights
Dyment said that the establishment of a new council was a significant step forward this year.
“We now have a council with diverse perspectives, and we’ve had constructive discussions and debates in our meetings,” he said.
The township has also seen increased public participation in committees. A recent call for volunteers resulted in nearly a full roster of members, a notable increase from previous years, Dyment said.
Economic development was another area of progress in 2024, Dyment said. The sale of the township office will lead to its redevelopment into a convenience store, fast-food restaurant, gas station and hotel. A new commercial store is also under construction and discussions are ongoing with developers interested in building a truck stop and hotel.
“Nothing's signed, sealed, and delivered yet, but I've been on council for almost three years now and it's more than I've ever seen happen in this community,” Dyment said.
What’s to come in 2025
Looking ahead, Dyment said the township plans to focus on growth, operational efficiency and improved public access to municipal services.
“We are going to become an office that is open to the public. We're looking at relocating our office. We haven't found a spot yet, but our goal is to have an office complex that will be open to the public,” he said.
“If someone calls or someone walks in, they need to be served right away. And that's one of our goals.”
Dyment also noted plans to support infrastructure improvements to accommodate future development. With a new director of public services in place, the township aims to ensure that infrastructure is prepared for growth opportunities.
“We're going to keep our foot on the gas pedal for growth. There's lots of lots of interest out there,” he said.
“With our director of public services in place, we'll be able to ensure that our infrastructure can hold it. With our town manager, we are going to ensure that any opportunity that comes to us will be presented to us in a good format, with all the pros and cons, and we'll make the decision.”
Dyment said it’s been a challenging year for everyone.
“Obviously, not only the people that put their names out there to go under public scrutiny, but the residents as well. And we recognize that,” he said.
“I think in 2025 you'll find a different mentality within our communities. We've got to keep with that positive reinforcement and the positive movement forward.”
Here’s a timeline of what’s happened in the municipality:
- March 28, 2023 - Ward 4 Coun. Dan DeMarchi resigns.
- April 2023 - A policy on how to fill vacant council positions is adopted. At a special meeting on April 24, Allana Schmidt was appointed as the new Ward 4 councillor. Five people applied for the position.
- May 2023 - In a 4-3 vote, council approved a controversial 34.2 per cent budget for 2023.
- August 2023 - Kim Druer resigns her Ward 6 seat.
- October 2023
- Oct. 10 - Steve Campsall appointed as the new Ward 6 councillor. Five people applied for the position.
- Oct. 15 - The township locks out 14 public works staff represented by CUPE.
- Residents appeal to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to intervene in the township affairs by sending a petition signed by over 70 per cent of eligible residents to the province.
- November 2023 - The mayor is caught on camera telling locked-out staff that they should start looking for other work.
- January 2024
- Hours at the township’s offices are reduced because of the ongoing labour dispute.
- Jan. 21 - The township ends the lock out and the workers go on strike.
- Jan. 23 - The last public council meeting was held. The five meetings since have been cancelled because of lack of quorum.
- February 2024
- The township hires a third-party investigator to look into social media comments and picketers.
- Keith Neal submits his resignation from his role as the Ward 2 councillor. It was never accepted as all of the public meetings have been cancelled.
- Feb. 20 - Council achieves quorum to meet in-camera. The items on the agenda are the security of municipal property and potential litigation affecting the municipality about Ontario Health and Safety Act complaints, as well as labour or employee negotiations about the striking workers.
- March 2024
- Residents stage a meeting to talk about the ongoing issues in the township. About 150 people attended, including Timiskaming-Cochrane NDP MPP John Vanthof. Plans are also in place to create a ratepayers’ association.
- Councillors Dyment, Gadoury and Campsall go public with their plans to boycott meetings in an attempt to have the MMAH step in. This move is allowed under the Municipal Act, which says that 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 mayor and CAO Chris Wray speak out against the move. CAO Chris Wray said he is skeptical anything like that would happen because since the Municipal Act was established in 2001, the clause has never been used in the province.
- April 2024
- The MMAH declared Matheson’s council seats vacant forcing a byelection. Kathy Horgan, a provincial bureaucrat, was appointed to make council decisions until new members were elected.
- May 2024
- After nearly eight months, the striking CUPE workers reached an agreement with Matheson.
- June 2024
- After reaching an agreement with the township, the CUPE members returned to work.
- Complaints filed by a former councillor and a resident against ex-mayor Doug Bender were the focus of two integrity commissioner reports, which determined Bender did not bully, harass or intimidate either complainant.
- July 2024
- James Mousseau, the township’s director of infrastructure services, left the organization.
- August 2024
- The results from the byelection were released.
- Later in the month, the new council was sworn in.
- September 2024
- Matheson held its first meeting with its new council.
- Wray asked council to write to the MMAH to request a review of the township’s financial and administrative practices, policies and procedures. According to the report, the initiative stemmed from ongoing criticism directed at the township by some residents via community Facebook pages. Wray said these criticisms have included accusations of fraud, favouritism and general mismanagement.
- October 2024
- Black River-Matheson announced that Wray and clerk-treasurer Cassandra Child were no longer employed by the township.
- December 2024
- Wray and Child made the decision to sue the township for over $1.8 million, alleging harassment, violations of employment rights and bad-faith conduct. They are seeking damages for lost wages, benefits and mental distress.
