Former Black River-Matheson mayor says he feels betrayed by province's decision to disband council

The former mayor of the northern Ontario township of Black River-Matheson says he was misled by Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra.

On Monday the provincial government announced it was vacating Black River-Matheson's council because it failed to hold a meeting for more than 60 days.

"The absence of meetings impedes decision-making and negatively affects local residents," wrote the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Paul Calandra, in a letter to the six councillors and Mayor Doug Bender.

Calandra was able to disband council thanks to section 266(1) of the Municipal Act, which gives him the power to vacate council seats if they are unable to perform their duties.

Doug Bender, now the township's former mayor, said Calandra told him in a phone call he would not resort to disbanding council, despite its inability to hold meetings.

Bender said in a second call, Calandra promised to give the municipality a heads up and time to sort things out if vacating their seats returned to the table.

"I'm just very, very, severely disappointed in Minister Calandra and the fact that he didn't tell me the truth," Bender told CBC News.

"He told me that he was going to do one thing and then did something else."

In a letter Calandra sent to Bender and the six council members on April 29, announcing the government was vacating their seats, he said he warned them it was a possibility in an earlier letter, sent on April 9.

Calandra did not respond to CBC's request for comment.

Bender said disbanding council puts an added financial burden on the township since the budget can't pass in a timely manner.

He said the municipality will also have to cover the cost of a byelection to elect the next mayor and council.

Several issues

Last year Black River-Matheson's council approved a 34 per cent property tax hike without public consultation.

Bender said they had no choice but to raise taxes.

"Municipalities are required to balance their budgets," he said.

"Previous councils have been taking money from reserves. Taking money from reserves means that you have less investment income coming in to help offset current budget requirements and we made the tough decision to balance our budget."

But that decision upset some residents and councilors.

In October 2023, 14 municipal workers were locked out and later went on strike. The labour issues have still not been resolved. 

Because of those issues, a group of three council members stopped attending meetings, requesting the province help solve matters.

No date has yet been set for a byelection in the municipality.

Bender said he hasn't decided if he will run for mayor again.