Northern township holds first meeting since council was given the boot

BLACK RIVER-MATHESON - A Northern Ontario township has held its first meeting since its council was kicked out last month. 

A special council meeting was held today (May 10) by provincial bureaucrat Kathy Horgan, manager of local government and housing for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's northern regional office. Horgan has been appointed to make any decisions of council until a new council is elected. 

"The procedures followed for council meetings will be followed and modified as necessary, given the circumstances," said Horgan at the start of the meeting.

Clerk Cassandra Child and CAO Chris Wray also took part in the special meeting, which was held to change the regular meeting dates for next week. 

The regularly scheduled meeting was supposed to be held on Tuesday, May 14 and is now being held on Monday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m. It will be the town's first council meeting since February.

The change is because the senior management team has "prior engagements" conflicting with the regular meeting date.

"The presence of the senior management team is critical at the meeting given the extensive and complex nature of the agenda," reads the council agenda.

On April 29, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing declared all of the Matheson council seats vacant after council failed to meet quorum for meetings for 60 days. The little-used section of the Municipal Act hasn't been exercised since it took effect in the early 2000s.

SEE: Matheson council kicked out of office, here's what we know so far
RELATED: Matheson's heading to the polls, byelection set for Aug. 12

In her role, Horgan will report to the minister on the 15th and 30th of each month. The minister will post all reports from the appointee on the township’s website.

Residents are heading to the polls on Aug. 12, 2024. The nomination period is June 1 to 2 p.m. on June 28. Advance voting is Aug. 1-11. On election day, the polls are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Seven council members will be elected — one mayor and one councillor in each of the six wards. 

In the last election in 2022, all but one of the council positions were acclaimed. With people only voting for one ward councillor, the voter turnout was a dismal 5.95 per cent — with 150 of the eligible 2,605 voters casting a ballot.

The Aug. 12 byelection date is the latest that the vote can happen.