McNab/Braeside, Ont. mayor Mark MacKenzie announces resignation

McNab/Braeside Mayor Mark MacKenzie. (https://www.mcnabbraeside.com/)

McNab/Braeside Mayor Mark MacKenzie has announced he will be resigning from his role, effective next week.

In a letter posted on his website, MacKenzie wrote the decision was “complicated” and came after “much deliberation” and “soul-searching,”

“Ironically, I will be able to explain to you better what has happened, is happening and likely will happen with the governance and administration of your Township, having resigned,” he wrote.

His resignation will be effective Feb. 28 to allow time for the Ottawa Valley township’s council to determine next steps, he said.

In his letter, MacKenzie raised a number of issues he had with the decisions made by council, including a scheduled closed-door “training session” next month and its handling of the township’s spending and finances.

MacKenzie added there is “little” he could do when being “constantly out-voted on important issues.” He encouraged concerned residents to contact their councillors.

“It has been fascinating but very painful to see from the inside how easy it is for a government to mislead the public, and for me personally to experience what they can do to a whistleblower, particularly one who has been elected on your behalf,” MacKenzie wrote.

MacKenzie, who was elected mayor of the township in 2022, was docked 60 days’ pay by council in December 2023 following an integrity commissioner’s report into his behaviour during a closed session of council, finding that he conducted himself in a manner that was “dishonest, false and misleading.”

He later apologized for his behaviour.

Council will decide whether to fill his vacancy or to call a by-election, according to the Municipal Act.

McNab/Braeside is located west of Arnprior and has a population of about 7,600, according to the 2021 census.