Almost two weeks after four councillors quit, Enterprise’s new mayor – whose election triggered those resignations – says a by-election will fill the empty seats.
In a letter posted to a hamlet Facebook page, Sandra McMaster said a schedule for that by-election had not yet been determined.
Three councillors refused to take their oath and a fourth stepped down at McMaster’s swearing-in on February 14. In interviews, some of those who left their positions said they were doing so as they did not want to work with McMaster as mayor.
McMaster defeated the incumbent, Mike St Amour, by 29 votes to 25 in an election that had an 84-percent turnout in the tiny South Slave community, the majority of which burned in a wildfire last August.
In recent letters to residents, McMaster has said the hamlet was discussing with the NWT’s Department of Municipal and Community Affairs what to do after the resignations.
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“While we wait for the by-election, it has also been determined that council can still meet to carry on necessary business, as quorum is the majority of members currently sitting on council,” she wrote on Monday, promising a special meeting next week.
Quorum means the minimum number of people who must attend a meeting for it to be considered official. The Hamlets Act defines it quorum for a council meeting as “a majority of the council members then holding office.”
