The next steps for Ignace's municipal council remain unclear after the mayor and another councillor left their posts.
On Tuesday, the resignations of former mayor Bill Gascon and councillor Al Zimmer were unanimously accepted by council during an emergency meeting.
The municipality issued a media release Tuesday evening on behalf of the the remaining three councillors — Kim Baigrie, Jodie Defeo, and John Taddeo — to address the situation.
“It is unfortunate that the Mayor and Councillor have submitted their resignation, mid stream in our Council Term and have set the community backwards by making divisive comments and posting inaccurate information on a variety of social media platforms,” said a quote attributed to the three councillors.
The statement claimed the resignations were warranted and noted "disappointing actions" by Gascon and Zimmer, including moving forward on township initiatives without the consent or resolution of all of Council.
The statement said the township is unable to discuss the details of the specific issues based on legal advice, “and for the protection of those individuals involved at the Township office.”
The remaining councillors have 60 days to decide to fill the vacant positions, either by holding by-elections or appointing replacements. Only in municipalities where the province's strong mayors legislation applies are required to hold by-elections to fill mayoral vacancies.
The municipality announced on Wednesday that Baigrie has been named interim mayor.
About a dozen people demonstrated in front of town hall during a special meeting of council in the late afternoon on Tuesday.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Gascon said there were a lot of "rumours and mistruths."
The unrest at the council table comes amid probes into multiple incidents within the last month.
The OPP said the Ignace detachment was made aware of a situation that occurred on March 10 at a local municipal office. While no charges were laid, the Ministry of Labour was involved. The ministry confirmed it had received a complaint of workplace harassment at the municipal office and had issued three orders to the township, but those were not disclosed as an investigation remains ongoing.
Provincial police have also confirmed that a report of fraud at a local municipal building was received on March 22, and that an investigation is taking place.
