PORT HAWKESBURY: After two town council meetings, Trevor Boudreau’s seat at the council table will remain vacant.
Port Hawkesbury’s Chief Administration Officer, Terry Doyle declared the vacancy during the town’s virtual council meeting April 7 after former councillor Boudreau provided notice on March 24, he was no longer an ordinary resident of the town.
Blaine MacQuarrie, the town’s deputy mayor, introduced a motion which would allow Boudreau to continue serving the Town of Port Hawkesbury, however, the motion wasn’t seconded and was withdrawn without a vote.
Boudreau wasn’t in attendance, due to a conflict-of-interest.
Following the meeting, Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton said Boudreau’s vacancy, which comes on the heels of a global pandemic, is something she’s disappointed with. One of council’s first calls, she said, will be to Chuck Porter, Minister of Municipal Affairs to have a conversation on the vacant council seat.
“I can say, council had access to all the information our solicitor presented to media this evening, they understood this could possibly trigger a by-election, and I’m very disappointed of the outcome as there wasn’t a seconder,” Chisholm-Beaton said. “We’re hoping to get some guidance from municipal affairs with regard to the outcome of tonight’s meeting. I wouldn’t think a special election would be possible in today’s present climate.”
Then during another virtual town council meeting last night, the mayor and deputy mayor voted in favour of granting an extension, but the motion was defeated after councillors Mark MacIver and Hughie MacDougall voted against it.
Without knowing the duration and depth of impacts from novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Chisholm-Beaton said losing Boudreau as a councillor is extremely disappointing.
“There are other outcomes losing councillor Boudreau,” Chisholm-Beaton explained. “He chairs our doctor recruitment committee. That’s another gap that needs to be filled and it’ll be a tremendous loss for our town.”
Boudreau asked council for an extension until the municipal elections in October. Under the Municipal Government Act, a councillor who isn’t an ordinarily resident can be granted an extension for up to six-months.
Boudreau and his wife sold their house in Port Hawkesbury last March, they continued to be residents of the town, renting for four-months before moving in with his parents on Langley Court until February 24.
Also in February, the couple purchased a home in Port Hastings that they renovated and occupied.
“I gave notice to town council, as I was no longer an ordinary resident of the town and as such, was no longer able to serve on council,” Boudreau said in a Facebook post. “As I was not present for the council meeting tonight, I was not able to hear the reasoning for the extension being denied.”
He said that he was disappointed with the decision given current circumstances.
Solicitor Patrick Lamey said there was an official motion on June 25, 2019, which permitted Boudreau to be an ordinary resident outside of Port Hawkesbury for a period of time. Upon further examination of the nine-part definition of “ordinarily resident,” Lamey said it became clear, council didn’t originally require an extension as he met the definition of ordinarily resident.
“The intent behind the motion was to jump off that original June 25 motion,” he said. “To further clarify that period [extension] was for March 25, 2020 forward.”
Highlighting the fact no special election can take place six-months prior to an ordinary polling day for a regular election, which will occur on October 17, Lamey said there is no minimum four-week spread in which to hold the vote. Based on this, there can’t be a special election after April 17.
“Overarching all of this is the fact that we’re in a state of emergency in this province, from a more practical point of view, this is not sufficient time.”
During last night’s meeting, it was also decided there will be no special election held to find a replacement for Boudreau before the municipal election in October.
In a Facebook post of her own, Chisholm-Beaton said council can only grant one six-month extension per term, and at the time it wasn’t necessary for Boudreau, as he still had an intended address in Port Hawkesbury.
She explained Deputy Mayor MacQuarrie chose their solicitor’s advice and made a motion to amend the original motion of June 25 – which would allow Boudreau to have his term extended for six-months while living outside of the town.
“Every motion needs to be seconded before it can be discussed or debated. The fact is that neither Councillor Mark MacIver or Councillor Hughie MacDougall seconded the motion,” Chisholm-Beaton said. “Without a seconder, we had no motion on the floor to debate, and hence, without a motion, the extension could not be granted.”
Without debate or discussion, she said, MacIver or MacDougall didn’t provide any public reason why they did not second the motion.
“In the midst of this pandemic, the residents of the Town of Port Hawkesbury should understand why we have one less council member to assist with the growing burden of council business, to work with town staff during these uncertain times, and to help assist our 3000-plus citizens with their concerns,” Chisholm-Beaton said. “Citizens deserve to know why we have one less councillor to assist during one of the biggest health and economic crises of not only our town and region – but also our province, country, and the world.”
She doesn’t understand the rationale to deny Boudreau an extension, whose capacity in the health field would have been a tremendous asset at the council table.
“This is about your council doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons,” she said. “As citizens I invite you to use your voice in holding our council accountable.”