Changes to Caucus Meetings

Following the 2021 election, and as your newly elected mayor, I had hoped to bridge the partisan divide and bring Council together to work collaboratively towards common goals and in the best interest of our residents.

Over the past two years I have had multiple one-on-one meetings with councillors who were elected under a different political banner with a goal of ensuring that our council functions cohesively and free from disruptive influences that impede our progress. Unfortunately, however, my political opponents, as is their right, have continued to meet on their own and operate as a voting block.

The result is that they are delaying our capacity to move forward on a wide range of issues.

It is in this context and in the hope of improving our decision-making along with the advancement of files, that I have made the difficult but necessary decision to exclude councillors Caroline Decaluwe, Julie Halde and Maya Chammas from the informal caucus discussions we hold once per month to plan, discuss, and review Town priorities.

Discussions and different opinions are healthy and help to crystallize our thoughts and move projects forward. While I always welcome critical thinking and alternate views, at a certain point a decision must be taken, and a game plan agreed upon. The discussion in caucus has become much too granular, and indecision has become the modus operandi.

I should also point out that a councillor’s role is to provide vision and orientation to the administration who are then responsible for implementing these directives. It is not a councillor’s role to insert themselves in operational matters, thereby undermining the administration and obstructing progress. Such action leads to a state of “Decisional Paralysis by Analysis.”

Excluding councillors from caucus is not unprecedented in our town's democratic history. Similar decisions have been made by past administrations. Nevertheless, the municipal council has consistently persevered, upholding its responsibilities and commitments to the residents unabated.

Although the councillors in question will no longer participate in the informal monthly discussion caucus, they will not be deprived of any of their rights as elected representatives and will still have a vote at all council meetings. They will still be part of the preparatory meeting to which all Council members are invited before each public meeting, they will receive all pertinent information and they will have the opportunity to fully contribute within established procedures.

As your mayor, I continue to be committed to fostering an environment where the needs of our community are paramount, while ensuring effective governance, protecting the public interest, building a future we can all be proud of, and, most importantly, doing this with the utmost consideration for the common good.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Malouf