Dustin Buckingham said dysfunction will continue until council is forced to change
As frustration mounted and dysfunction continued, Lakeland Ridges Ward 4 Councillor Dustin Buckingham tendered his resignation after less than a year in office.
When he was elected to office in May 2024, Buckingham said he expected to join a council that had learned from its mistakes and would attempt to serve the interests of residents. After all, he was joining a suspended council that was set for reinstatement after months of supposed training.
He said he soon discovered the dysfunction remained, and most councillors ignored the government stipulations and “never finished the training.”
Buckingham said he and newly elected Mayor Leonard Foster joined where five council members, known as the quorum, overstepped their authority and controlled the council agenda.
“They stick together in just about everything,” Buckingham said.
He said Ward 3 (Meductic) Councillors Randy Stairs and Chris Yerxa, Ward 2 (Debec) Councillors Linda Porter and Patrician Budd, and Ward 1 (North Lake) Councillor Perry Bull have most decisions made even before it’s brought up at the council table.
Buckingham said Ward 1 Councillor Ross Stairs and Ward 4 (Canterbury) Greg Grant want to work as an effective council, but they are shut out.
The dysfunction within the initial council, which took office on Jan. 1, 2023, upon the formation of Lakeland Ridges, caught the attention of the Department of Local Government. On July 28, 2023, the province suspended the council and appointed a superintendent.
In January 2024, Lakeland Ridges’ first mayor, Tanya Cloutier, former Canterbury mayor, and the two Ward 4 councillors resigned, citing the deep divisions and personal agendas that remained despite the suspension.
Buckingham and Foster filled one of the vacant council seats and the mayor’s office in May 2024. Gary Grant filled the second Canterbury seat in November.
Buckingham said there is a reason all the resignations involve Ward 4 representatives.
“They’re hellbent to exclude Canterbury,” he said.
Buckingham said council dysfunction means most essential issues get ignored while the council focuses on pet projects and personal interests.
He cited the 2025 budget as an example, noting that the council called a special meeting on Friday, Jan. 10, to finally approve it.
“That should have been done in October,” Buckingham said.
He said councillors regularly overstep their authority and undermine the duties of the CAO and clerk. When rules and bylaws prohibit their efforts, he said the quorum uses its majority to amend the bylaws.
Buckingham said only the provincial government can correct the problem.
“I don’t think we can get rid of the council,” he said.
He said the council ignored many recommendations in the transition plan developed after a provincial investigation, leading to the continuing dysfunction.
“And people around here are paying for it,” Buckingham said.
