A six-month municipal strike, legal battles, and a council meeting boycott have prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in a northern Ontario municipality.
Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Calandra ordered the Black River-Matheson mayor and council to vacate their seats this week, effectively forcing a byelection in this town of 2,400 located roughly 50 minutes west of Timmins.
Council has not held a meeting in months after two councillors resigned and three others began boycotting meetings. The failure to meet prompted Mr. Calandra to expel council.
“It is the job of municipally elected councillors to ensure the continued provision of services for residents,” Mr. Calandra wrote in an April 29 letter.
“This includes attending council meetings and filling council vacancies as soon as possible. The absence of meetings impedes decision-making and negatively affects local residents.”
Council duties will be exercised by Kathy Horgan, manager of local government and housing for the ministry’s northern regional office, until a by-election can be held, the letter said.
The last time council met publicly was Jan. 23. Its Feb. 13 meeting was cancelled due to a rally of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Feb. 27, March 12, March 26, April 9 and April 23 meetings were cancelled because a quorum could not be met. The only meeting since January was an in-camera session on Feb. 20.
The township has a seven-person council, and at least four members must be present to achieve a quorum.
Councillors Dave Dyment, Louise Gadoury and Steven Campsall told local media they planned to boycott meetings until the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing stepped in.
The Municipal Act says that the Minister of Municipal Affairs must step in if a municipal council can’t hold a meeting for 60 days due to a lack of quorum.
The three councillors issued a letter to the community March 18, saying council could no longer work together.
Strike, Resignations, and Legal Action
The drama started last May when council approved a 34.2 percent tax hike, causing residents to protest with a petition to get the attention of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The ministry failed to step in, leading to discontent among those protesting the tax increase.Roughly 40 people involved with the petition were issued cease-and-desist letters from the town, alleging defamatory comments had been made about council.
Ward 6 Councillor Kim Druer stepped down in August, and then, in October, 14 municipal workers were locked out by the town.
The lockout turned into a strike in January and a second councillor, Keith Neal, resigned in February.
A back-and-forth online dialogue between the union and the town erupted in March when Mayor Doug Bender posted a letter on social media that called for mediation, but also took CUPE 1490 president Serge Bouchard to task for comments made at a public meeting.
The union was quick to reply to the letter, saying in a statement that the mayor’s comments “reek[ed] of desperation.”
The union applied for a judicial review of municipal conduct, saying the town violated the Charter rights of CUPE members by banning them from town facilities in February and the town initiated legal action against the strikers, saying they had displayed threatening behaviour, according to a report from CTV.
The six-month dispute with town employees appeared to be over earlier this month when an agreement was reached, but the deal was delayed by the town’s refusal to drop its legal action against workers for their behaviour during the strike.
The town has reportedly appealed to the Ontario Labour Relations Board to order both sides sign the deal.
The Epoch Times contacted the municipality for comment, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
