Local Government
Message from the Mayor
November 27, 2020
Since my last message we have seen a large increase in the number of COVID cases in our province, and new steps that the provincial government has taken to try to manage this increase. It is encouraging that on November 3rd, the Province announced a new COVID-19 response framework, which will allow the Province to rank health units based on case numbers and trends, using colour-coded categories – green (prevent), Yellow (protect), Orange (restrict), Red (control) and Gray (lockdown). What this means is that restrictions in each health unit are determined by case numbers and trends rather than by treating every municipality the same regardless of case numbers.
I am so proud of the residents of Callander, because I see how everyone is following public health guidelines by wearing masks indoors and focussing on maintaining physical distancing. This tells me that you are continuing to take this situation very seriously and are acting accordingly.
One thing we must try to do, is to encourage younger residents to take precautions, because although they are not at a high risk, they are still able to transmit the virus to our more vulnerable members or our community. Please talk to your children and remind them of the importance of following public health guidelines, social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks.
As a municipality, we are doing everything we can to minimize the spread of Covid-19 while at the same time providing as many services as we can. Our Emergency Management Community Control Group (CCG) continues to meet once a week (more frequently as the need arises) to review and monitor the situation within our community as well as any new guidelines or recommendations from the Province. The CCG’s recommendations to Council are driven by information we receive from health experts and provincial guidelines as well as what we see happening within our community. We continually review and evaluate municipal services/events and make recommendations based on this information to ensure that we are operating as safely as possible and to ensure we are not needlessly putting our community at risk while trying to maintain some resemblance of normalcy.
Currently, the municipal office, the library, and the museum are all open to the public. There are enhanced safety precautions and limits to the number of people permitted in each building. We are renting out the community centre for events, again, with enhanced safety precautions and restrictions on the number of people that are permitted in the building. All our municipal staff are working to continue to provide the required services to our residents.
Moving into the winter season, a time when so many of our residents take advantage of the Bill Barber Complex, our Public Works staff has made all the necessary preparations to enable them to build the ice surface once the temperatures allow. We continue to be encouraged at our community’s ability to keep our numbers down and, if we continue to keep them low, we hope to be able to open the ice surface as soon a possible, but at this time a decision has not been made regarding its opening. The CCG will monitor the current infection rate and trends and will make a recommendation, regarding opening the Bill Barber Complex skating surface, in the next month.
Recently, there have been several acts of vandalism in Centennial Park. On three separate occasions, vandals have smashed and destroyed electrical outlets that are in the park. Most recently, in addition to destroying the electrical outlets, the wires to some of the Christmas lights were cut.
I cannot begin to express the level of disappointment that I feel when I hear about these wilful acts of vandalism. As a result of these acts, we must spend taxpayer’s money to repair the damage, and that is such a waste. I would like to thank the North Bay Police Department for their continued support in helping us resolve this issue.
Please, if you see someone committing an act of vandalism, or have information about someone committing an act of vandalism, or any other crime, please report it to the North Bay Police or you can call Crimestoppers (1-800-222-TIPS) and provide an anonymous tip.
Stay strong, stay vigilant, stay safe, lookout for one another, and be kind to each other. We will get through this.
Mayor Robb Noon
Meetings of Council
2021 Schedule - Council Meetings (click for annual list)
Council meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. for Committee of the Whole and on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. for Regular Council meetings. Special meetings may be called as required with 24 hours notice. Please visit our Meetings page for Agendas, Documents, Minutes, etc. Meetings are held in the Council Chambers located at 280 Main Street North, Callander and are open to the public unless otherwise specified.
The Role of Council:
As outlined in Section 224 of Ontario’s Municipal Act, 2001 as amended, it is the role of council:
(a) to represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality;
(b) to develop and evaluate the policies and programs of the municipality;
(c) to determine which services the municipality provides;
(d) to ensure that administrative policies, practices and procedures and controllership policies, practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of council;
(d.1) to ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality, including the activities of the senior management of the municipality;
(e) to maintain the financial integrity of the municipality; and
(f) to carry out the duties of council under this or any other Act.
And as outlined in Section 225, it is the role of the head of council,
(a) to act as chief executive officer of the municipality;
(b) to preside over council meetings so that its business can be carried out efficiently and effectively;
(c) to provide leadership to the council;
(c.1) without limiting clause (c), to provide information and recommendations to the council with respect to the role of council described in clauses 224 (d) and (d.1);
(d) to represent the municipality at official functions; and
(e) to carry out the duties of the head of council under this or any other Act.
To contact the Council as a whole, you may:
Please send these, in care of the Municipal Clerk, to:
280 Main Street North,
Callander, ON P0H 1H0
or by email to clerk@callander.ca
To contact an individual Member of Council directly:
The Municipality of Callander does not have Wards, so all members of Council have been elected “at large” to represent all areas of the Municipality. Council Member contact information is:
|
|
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Phone |
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Mayor Robb Noon |
rnoon@callander.ca |
(705) 845-5010 |
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Deputy Mayor Jordy Carr |
jcarr@callander.ca |
(705) 752-1241 |
|
Councillor Linda Alkins |
lindaalkins@callander.ca |
(705) 752-2471 |
|
Councillor Irene Smit |
ismit@callander.ca |
(705) 840-0614 |
|
Councillor Daryl Vaillancourt |
dvaillancourt@callander.ca |
(705) 471-4007 |
Please Note: Municipal Staff, under the direction of the Chief Administrative Officer, are responsible for implementing the decisions of Council and for carrying out the day-to-day operations of the Municipality. If you require a municipal service, or have questions or concerns about municipal operations, you are encouraged to submit a service request, or contact the appropriate department. Please look under the Municipal Services section of this website, or use the “I want to…” function.
Code of Conduct for Council Members
The Municipal Act Section 223.2(1) requires that a municipality shall establish a Code of Conduct for its Members of Council; and Section 223.3 of the Act requires that a municipality shall appoint an Integrity Commissioner. Please click on the links below for a copy By-laws 2019-1609 to appoint an Integrity Commissioner and 2019-1614 to adopt an Integrity Commissioner Protocol and Code of Conduct for Council:
By-law 2019-1609 To appoint an Integrity Commissioner
By-law 2019-1614 To adopt an Integrity Commissioner Protocol and Code of Conduct for Council
Integrity Commissioner Reports
Integrity Commissioner Report September 2020