Dear Editor,
MRC Pontiac Warden Toller’s recent dissolving of the Pontiac Waste Committee (https://theequity.ca/mrc-waste-committee-disbanded-members-say-work-is-not-done/) just at the time when fresh input and ideas are needed most, proves her need to have total control of everything.
You’d think, after the failure of her almost-billion-dollar incinerator scheme, that the warden would be happy to have handed the waste management file over to the duly elected and appointed people on the Waste Management Committee. That way, she could have resumed work on her other (yet to be fulfilled) election promises, namely the community pool and the grand re-opening of all those lumber mills. Well, think again! Just when it seemed that input on the decisions regarding waste management in the region might be moving out of the warden’s direct grasp, wham . . . the committee is dissolved, and further discussion of it will move to the secretive plenary meetings, which the public are shut out of.
The reason why plenary meetings are held in secret remains unknown, but publicly elected officials conducting meetings in secret, except for the accepted and specific reasons as outlined in the municipal rules, is never a good thing. People need to start addressing this very subject with their elected officials and future candidates for election.
As one of the reasons for doing away with the Waste Management Committee, the warden stated that Pontiac’s new waste management co-ordinator (I didn’t even know we had one) prefers to work directly with directors general and mayors. Which begs the question – since when does the hired help dictate who they are willing to work with? And why is there so little pushback on this from the council of mayors? Was the Pontiac Waste Committee too big to control? Or did their input not align with the warden’s vision? We may never know . . . and as an aside, regarding the new position of waste management co-ordinator, let’s hope that this person is more effective than the conga-line of economic development co-ordinators that the Pontiac has had in the past few years . . .
After attending several MRC meetings now, I have to admit that I am gobsmacked at how they do business. The meetings are essentially The Jane Show, with most of the supporting cast of mayors sitting silently around the table as if afraid to speak. Or maybe they simply view MRC meetings as a great place to come, get paid, and catch up on their sleep. Any dissention is quickly shut down by the warden, and moving further discussion to the next plenary is always a great way to regain control of the mayors, under the “cone of silence” provided by the closed meeting. The public in attendance at MRC meetings is treated with disdain at best, and are frequently reminded that they can be ejected for anything the warden deems unacceptable. She makes a distinct point of letting the peons know exactly who is in charge. The SQ have been seen sitting across the road, armed and ready to quell any violent uprisings that may occur from among the audience of mainly senior citizens that normally attend. Whether the cops arrive there on their own or are summoned by someone at the MRC to intimidate is anyone’s guess. Rules of order are not adhered to in any meaningful way, with the warden bulldozing her way through the agenda, and the mayors sitting dutifully around the table, looking sullen and whipped. Perhaps if the public were allowed at the plenary meetings — like we should be — everyone would have a better understanding of the decision-making process. Is it any wonder that the people are upset?
Mr. Editor, I apologize for the ramblings in this letter, but by now you must realize my frustration. This failed gong-show that we have elected needs to end. Next year is an election year, and it will be our one chance to hit the reset button and get some transparency and accountability back at the MRC Pontiac. We might even get some input from some people other than the warden. I certainly hope that some good candidates step up, and we see a lot of new faces around that big table in Campbell’s Bay.
Gerry Bimm, Otter Lake
