It was the talk of the community. At the start of the regularly scheduled Council meeting on October 10, while Mayor Tony Fraser was calling the meeting to order, three Council members stood up and walked out. Councillor John Lennox was the first to go, followed by Deputy Mayor Theresa Bergeron, and then Councillor Gary Annable. The three members looked solemn as they vacated their seats, leaving only Councillor Matthew Uhrig and the Mayor remaining.
Quorum was lost. There were no longer enough Council members present to legally conduct municipal business. A confused silence fell over the room, and for those watching from home, the YouTube feed promised Council would return shortly, and then a short while later, explained that Council had lost quorum and a 30 minute waiting period would be required. The members who left never returned, and there was, in essence, no meeting that afternoon.
The only live audience member that night was lifelong resident Peter Guy, who didn’t like what he saw in the room after the cameras were turned off. Following an exchange between Mayor Fraser and the Clerk regarding next steps (since neither immediately knew how to proceed in such an unusual situation), Peter reports that two senior Township staff members were laughing and joking. “I was not overly impressed with that,” Peter told the Times. Other sources confirm that these people were CAO Angela Rutley, and Recreation and Culture Director, Meaghan Meerburg.
Peter later walked up and confronted the officials in the room and told them that he was not impressed with the laughing and joking, as it was an embarrassment to the Township. Peter says that nobody answered him, and he left. He wishes the YouTube stream would have been left on for transparency.
In an email exchange, Councillor Uhrig added a different perspective, stating: “I wholeheartedly disagree they were laughing because this is humorous. It is far from that – they laughed because, much like laughing at a funeral, this is the way the awkwardness and unusualness of the moment came out of them. The majority were dumfounded.”
The question of why the walkout occurred has been a burning one ever since. Some locals criticized the members for walking out, suggesting it amounted to abandoning their post when the Township needs them the most, considering the hardships with finances and infrastructure that are currently hitting hard locally. Others knew there had to be more to the story, and that three well-meaning elected officials would never do such a thing without a purpose. The Times interviewed three Council members and received submissions from two others. Their collective stories provide the backstory – or at least scratches the surface – of what is going on.
Deputy Mayor Theresa Bergeron
To understand what happened, it’s necessary to first consider the events of the September 26 Council meeting. At that meeting, Deputy Mayor Theresa Bergeron introduced a motion to suggest that Council instruct HR staff to develop a comprehensive “360 degree feedback component” for performance reviews for the current and any future CAOs. The 360 degree feedback refers to feedback not only from Council, but also anonymous feedback from staff under the CAO as well. Following the Deputy Mayor’s introduction of this concept, Mayor Fraser became agitated with her when she attempted to invite Counties CAO Maureen Adams to speak about 360 degree feedback. The Mayor scolded Deputy Mayor Bergeron for this, saying “I am still the chair of the committee, and the Mayor of the Township”. The Mayor later scolded his fellow Council members several times for “neglecting” to inform him that the idea of 360 degree feedback for the CAO would be proposed. “I look to staff saying it’s been neglected to keep me in the loop,” said the Mayor at the meeting, after providing a similar reprimand to his fellow Councillors.
The Deputy Mayor provided the Times with critical background information on this interaction. She states that on October 4, she and her fellow Council members received an email from Mayor Fraser stating that he had single-handedly completed a performance review for CAO Angela Rutley, without first consulting with Council to check if the other members approved of this method of review. The Deputy Mayor took issue with this because she believes staff should have a voice in the CAO performance review, which provides Council with a sense of the workplace dynamics. She says that Township staff have been resigning their positions at alarming rates, with suggestions from many sources that the work environment is toxic.
Deputy Mayor Bergeron expressed issue with what she described as the Mayor’s assertion that he and CAO Rutley must provide final approval on all Council agendas. She asserts that there is nothing in the Municipal Act that grants the Mayor such individual power, and that it’s important for members of a municipal Council to be able to act independently and bring motions forward. Instead, she feels that what has been going on in North Dundas is a remnant of the “old buddies club”.
Councillor John Lennox
More information about the work climate at the Township came from the first member to stand up and walk out on October 10 – Councillor John Lennox. “There is a lot more information that I simply cannot provide at this time due to confidentiality constraints – information which under the current system, the taxpayer may never know the full extent of the key issues leading up to the walk out,” said the Councillor. He argues that the work climate of the Township is an issue that affects all, since it costs money to lose good staff and train their replacements. “The cost of hiring, training and covering the vacant position(s) can balance out to 9 months of salary before the new hire is fully integrated to be able to operate and understand the unique challenges and issues that come with their position,” he added. “Several employees in key positions are considering resigning. This is very problematic.”
While unable to discuss details, Councillor Lennox reports that CAO Angela Rutley took offence to the wording of the Deputy Mayor’s motion in the September 26 meeting, saying that it made her feel attacked. The Councillor added: “Unfortunately I cannot reveal any further details at this time other than that the following closed session was a s***show and largely lacked creditability in my personal opinion.”
Councillor Lennox stated his belief that the Mayor has been trying to exercise too much individual power. “When it comes to certain topics, [the Mayor] won’t budge,” he said.
It is worth noting that several sources have stated that there is something of a “duo” formed between the Mayor and CAO Rutley, and that the Mayor appears to protect the CAO from negative feedback or appraisals. Multiple sources have stated that the Township is largely run by the decisions of the Mayor and the CAO, rather than by Council as a whole. “I feel that the Mayor has his blinders on, seeing friendship over long term vitality of the Township on key issues,” added Councillor Lennox.
Councillor Gary Annable
Lifelong resident and the most experienced Councillor on the team – Gary Annable – had been struggling for quite some time with what to do about the Township’s toxic work environment. “Some things had to come to a head, and in my eyes, this was the best way to do it,” said Councillor Annable, referring to the walkout. He stresses that taking such a public stand is “not his way”, but that in this case, he felt it was the only way. The Councillor declined to provide specifics, but stated that he felt things in local government have not been “flowing” the way they should be, and that all other options that had been tried to rectify the situation went nowhere.
Councillor Annable confirmed what his colleagues have been saying – countless people who work for the Township have serious work climate concerns. He stated that 5-6 employees in management positions with the Township are seeking work elsewhere due to the work environment.
“This is not my way, this is not my character,” the Councillor added. He has taken pride in serving his community for decades, and is willing to take a stand for the benefit of North Dundas.
Councillor Matthew Uhrig
The only Councillor who stayed at the table during the walkout submitted the following statement to the Times: “The three members who chose to leave the meeting Thursday before business could be conducted are within their rights to do so. I respect that democratic choice, but I don’t agree with it. I believe in the performance review process that we, including the three members who walked out, agreed on at a meeting earlier. We have major projects to take care of in this municipality and it is important, from a professional accountability perspective, that council knows the right people are in place to be of support and guidance for the work to be done. It’s obvious there is a struggle ongoing within the walls of the municipal building, and it is in the best interest of the taxpayer that it be corrected sooner than later, in whatever fashion possible. We need not have staff fearful of council members, nor the public distrusting or increasing the discourse in a perpetually negative manner. For all of this, council, every member, should be at the table debating, disagreeing, or approving, and actioning the business of North Dundas.”
Mayor Tony Fraser
Mayor Fraser submitted the following statement: “I’ve been trying to distill in my mind what took place at the meeting and my observation is that we couldn’t hold a meeting as we lost quorum when three members of Council rose and left the meeting room without comment. I’m sure you can understand the level of wonderment and confusion when that took place. The meeting never started, Council wasn’t able to conduct or further the business of the Corporation. Staff and the remaining Councillors waited the requisite thirty minutes for quorum to be achieved, and when the time lapsed without the return of the Councillor members that had left, the meeting was cancelled. While we waited the thirty minutes for the hoped for return of the absent members there was a discussion about what message should be posted on our YouTube channel and next steps concerning conducting the business of the Corporation, as no one in the room had experienced such an occurrence and we were all bewildered and extremely confused and as to why this had happened. The level of tension in Council Chambers was palpable and the nervousness of those that remained, in hopes of conducting the business of the Corporation, dealt with the extremely high level of tension and confusion in their own fashion. Those of us that were unprepared [for] the action taken were visibly upset and shaken. There was nothing humorous about three Councillors deciding that the business of the Corporation should not be conducted. Please be assured that this situation is unusual and is taken so very seriously by all that remained. I won’t surmise, guess, and of course presume to speak on behalf of the Councillors that walked out of the meeting. My comments on their reasoning would be unfair to them and unfair to the public, as I have not been made aware by them as to their reasoning or intention.”
After learning more about his colleagues concerns, the Mayor wished to add: “I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts about the meeting that didn’t take place. There are several comments from other members of Council that I struggle with, [I’m] saying that I stand on my record as a member of Council, serving the public since being elected in 2010. I look forward to future meetings of Council being conducted in a professional, respectful manner, as they have been until recently.
Next steps
A meeting has been scheduled for October 22 – an opportunity to perhaps debrief and discuss next steps. The common theme amongst many sources is that a drastic change is needed in the way local government business is being conducted. In particular, there are serious concerns about staff being treated unfairly by those in upper management positions, as well as concerns that the Township is being running by one or two individuals, instead of as a democracy. Updates to this developing story will be provided as they become available.
