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The mayor of a rural Manitoba community walked off the job in the middle of a council meeting on Wednesday.
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The move came moments after she blasted some of her colleagues who refused to give her time off to deal with a medical condition and for what she says has been “harassment” from some members of council.
“Some of you might know I’ve developed a medical issue,” Winnipeg Beach Mayor Pamela Jackson said about 20 minutes into the Winnipeg Beach council meeting.
According to Jackson, she is dealing with a herniated disc which she says has caused severe complications and pain, does not allow for her to sit for more than 15 minutes at a time, and has her on strong medication.
“My health care providers recommend I take time off in order to heal,” Jackson said. “However three members of this council denied that request believing, some of them, that while I am on this strong medication, where I hardly know whether it’s Tuesday or August, I can phone in my opinions.
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“That has left me in the untenable position of choosing between my health or continuing my duties for this town, so after much consideration and with very deep sadness I herby submit my resignation as mayor effective immediately.”
There were notable gasps heard in the council room on Wednesday when Jackson announced her resignation and she shed tears and hugged some in the council room before walking out of the meeting, leaving just four sitting council members on what is a five-person council.
Before leaving the council chambers on Friday the now former mayor also spoke about some of the challenges she says she has faced from some members on Winnipeg Beach council.
“I’ve had to listen to homophonic slurs, and I had a code of conduct brought against me where the provincial reviewer stated that the claim was fictitious and had no reasonable basis in fact or in law and was brought with the primary purpose of harassing, and still this council wants to go forward with an investigation,” she said.
The four councillors now left on Winnipeg Beach city council are deputy mayor Jean Gendron, and councillors Barry Hoel, Doug Jarvis and Larry Kisiloski.
Gendron will chair meetings until a new mayor is elected and the RM has said the beginning of the process to call a by-election would start at the next scheduled council meeting.
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