Embattled Strait Shores council suspended, supervisor appointed

Sam Farley · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 30, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

After astir of its councillors resigned, immoderate of them 2 abstracted times, the assembly successful Strait Shores has been officially dissolved. 

Late Tuesday, the Local Governance Commission of New Brunswick announced connected its website that a supervisor volition instrumentality implicit present due to the fact that the assembly had mislaid its quorum. 

"This means that the assembly is nary longer capable to govern and nonstop the operations of the agrarian community," the connection said. 

The melodramatic enactment comes aft months of turmoil, driven by a antagonistic absorption connected assembly to efforts by a caller councillor, Andy MacGregor, to betterment the assembly to bring transparency.  

The supervisor, Greg Lutes, will stay successful spot until the adjacent municipal predetermination successful May 2026. He is simply a advisor and erstwhile provincial lawman minister.

"As supervisor, Mr. Lutes is authorized to enactment successful the spot of the elected council," the committee said.

The costs of the supervisor volition beryllium passed connected to the municipality, but Mary Oley, the committee director, said it's intolerable to estimation what that outgo volition be. 

Oley confirmed that Coun. Tanya Haynes resigned, which would person near lone MacGregor and the acting mayor, Annamarie Boyd, connected what was once a five-person council.

CBC News requested interviews with Boyd and Haynes but did not instantly get responses. 

A transcript of Haynes's resignation was requested from CAO Donna Hipditch, but she did not respond. 

Oley said that the CAO and clerk of Strait Shores volition stay successful spot and instrumentality absorption from the supervisor, who volition instrumentality implicit the relation of council.

Councillor's ideas met resistance

The illness of the small, agrarian community's assembly follows a abbreviated secession of large challenges since MacGregor won a byelection successful January.

After joining, MacGregor introduced a twelve motions calling for much transparency. His colleagues felt his mode of seeking alteration had violated the codification of conduct, truthful they slapped him with sanctions  and opened an probe into his actions. 

The sanctions efficaciously resulted successful his suspension from assembly and helium was barred from municipal spot and from interaction with different councillors and staff.

Before his suspension, Jason Stokes resigned as mayor, and Stacy Jones and Tanya Haynes resigned arsenic councillors. Jones and Haynes subsequently un-resigned, but person some precocious resigned a 2nd time, leaving assembly without quorum.

Haynes's latest resignation came conscionable aft the committee released a study past week calling retired the assembly for mishandling the probe into MacGregor's behaviour and ignoring owed process.

The committee besides said councillors did not enactment maliciously, but Haynes was 1 of the assembly members straight named successful the study for breaking the codification of behaviour done the botched investigation.  

A week earlier that, a advisor hired by the assembly to analyse MacGregor had ruled the other — that MacGregor was the 1 who had violated the code.

Lakeland Ridges, similar Strait Shores, was besides created nether section authorities reform, and successful summertime 2023, saw a supervisor appointed aft assembly infighting. 

Lutes was besides 1 of 3 supervisors appointed for Lakeland Ridges. 

CBC News requested an interrogation with Lutes done the consulting steadfast helium works with.