File Photo - President Municipalities of Saskatchewan Gordon Barnhart
During the town of Lumsden council meeting on January 12th, Mayor Bryan Matheson, who also serves on the board of directors of the Municipalities of Saskatchewan (MoS) as the Director of the Central Region, reported to council that the President of MoS, Dr. Gordon Barnhart, had gone to Hawaii.
Gordon Barnhart is the Mayor of Saltcoats and the former Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan. He has been the President of MoS since 2017; his term expires this February. Due to the pandemic, the MoS annual convention is taking place virtually this year from February 7-10. On February 8th, the election for President will occur.
The public has been repeatedly encouraged not to travel because of COVID-19. Despite this, some leaders across Canada were caught travelling over the holidays resulting in numerous resignations.
Matheson told the council there was a string of emails back and forth among the board members, unaware that he had gone. As a result, Matheson said the board held a special meeting the previous week to discuss Barnhart’s travel. He noted the President chose not to attend the special meeting, and the board engaged in a lengthy discussion.
Matheson informed the Lumsden council that there is no special power to remove the President from the board or demote him. He noted the motion that came from the meeting was that; the board was not aware he was travelling; the board was disappointed he had chosen to travel; the board asked the President to communicate to the public and the media who were asking questions about his travel to Hawaii.
Matheson noted that he hadn’t heard that President Barnhart had commented in the media yet. Also, Matheson said the day of the council meeting that he received a phone call from Barnhart, who noted that he had seen Matheson’s concern and disappointment in the emails. Matheson relayed to the council that he told Barnhart the perception that was caused by his travelling was not good for the organization, and in the emails, he said Barnhart should consider resigning. Matheson said to his knowledge, he has not done that, and he is not going to do that.
Matheson further relayed to the council that he asked Barnhart if he was going to run for President again and that he responded that his papers are in and Barnhart was still considering his options.
Matheson asked Barnhart when he would be returning, and Barnhart responded that it was February 21st. He noted that Barnhart would be participating in the MoS convention while he is away.
Matheson noted 18 board members had a variety of opinions, and many were not happy. Councillor Brennan asked Matheson if Barnhart was in Hawaii for a vacation, which the Mayor confirmed.
The Mayor asked the council their thoughts on the President being in Hawaii. Councillor Verne Barber – said it was not a good look, particularly if he was there for two months. Councillor Jim Rawlings said that it was the optics - it’s not against what he did, but in the position that he’s in, it probably doesn’t look good.
Councillor Rhonda Phillips said, “The border to the United States is closed, we hear that - everybody knows that, people are being asked not to travel…So where do you come up with its ok to fly to Hawaii?…it’s like a sense of entitlement, there’s a lot of people who aren’t travelling who are doing this to protect other people in our society and if you are a leader of the Municipalities Of Saskatchewan which is all about community, don’t you have a role in protecting people?”
Councillor Janelle Brennan- agreed with Councillor Rhonda’s comment on it being a sense of entitlement, commenting, “I’m in charge, so I get to do what I want. It’s like a parent saying, don’t smoke, do as I say, not as I do, it doesn’t work like that in leadership roles.”
The Last Mountain Times reached out to President Barnhart for comment but, by this publication, had not received a response.
Jennifer Argue, Civic Reporter, LMT - Local Journalism Initiative reporter