Tag: Guy Boutilier

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Ft Mac Politics

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Council Readies for Byelection to Replace Guy Boutilier

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, byelection, Guy Boutilier

On Tuesday the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo started to prepare for a byelection in order to replace Guy Boutlier, who recently resigned and was a source of controversy for some Fort MacMurray residents. The byelection will be held on March 30 so that residents will have an opportunity to choose a replacement. Coun. Tyran Ault said “It’s been a controversial and interesting 15 months for our term on council. There’s no shortage of topics for candidates to discuss.” Guy Boutilier won election in 2013, and over the last few months there have been allegations that the politician did not actually meet the residency requirements for the council seat that he won. So far none of the allegations have been proven in court but Boutilier resigned in spite of this.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo byelection to replace Guy Boutilier has advantages and disadvantages. Since council members serve for a 4 year term Boutilier was expected to serve until 2017 at least. Fort MacMurray Mayor Melissa Blake said “The advantage of having a byelection at this time would be that folks that have a keen new interest in what’s going on in the municipal world may step forward. The downside that I see is that it’s a terrible challenge to get a byelection to have a lot of participation.” Coun. Tyran Ault also stated “My biggest worry is that we’re going to be burned out … and that’s going to cause voter apathy to go through the roof. It helps the municipality to get out ahead. By the time the federal election comes? Ugh.”

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Ft Mac Politics

Guy Boutilier Turns In Council Resignation

Guy Boutilier, council resignation

Guy Boutilier turned in his council resignation last Friday, ending for many the controversy over whether he was qualified to hold the seat. During the 2013 election Boutilier stated that he resided in the home he owned in Thickwood, but several people have disputed this and claims have been filed in court concerning whether Boutilier actually lived in Thickwood or if he just stayed there once in a while. When Boutilier discussed his resignation he said “What the mayor and council has done in the last year-and-a-half, I am really pleased with. “There’s still lots of loud voices left on council and after the audit, I am pleased with the direction the municipality is going in. Council is a service and I am proud of that service. But I have decided to do what is best for my family and focus on them.”

Guy Boutilier has said that he will seek work in the private sector after turning in his council resignation, and he is keeping quiet about a PC run in the future. Some have speculated that the resignation was caused by the claims against Boutilier, but these claims have not been proven in court. Three previous tenants who rented space at the Thickwood home claimed that Boutilier was hardly there, and that his wife and family never came to the residence. If the claims are true then Boutilier lived in Edmonton and was not eligible to sit on the Wood Buffalo council in the first place and he could not have participated in the election in 2013.

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Ft Mac Politics

Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo PC Association Gives Guy Boutilier Cautious Welcome

Guy Boutilier, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo PC association

The Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo PC Association has given a cautious welcome to Guy Boutilier, and this is a surprise to some especially considering the controversy that has recently surrounded the politician concerning his eligibility to hold the council seat that he was elected to. Party members of the association have said that Boutilier will be a welcome addition but only if the politician has eliminated his previous support for Wildrose tendencies. Boutilier purchased a membership in the association on Saturday, mere hours after he tendered his resignation to the council and announced that he was resigning from his council seat. According to PC association board member and past president Jeffrey Cromwell “There will always be awkwardness when a new member comes in with a controversial past, but time will tell what his motivations are. If Guy Boutilier is true to the values and beliefs of the PC association, and has left the Wildrose ideology behind him, then I don’t have any problems.”

Many view the Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo PC Association membership purchase by Guy Boutilier with suspicion. Board member Cromwell said “I will say that anyone who does plan to run or even join our party, they should have the best interests of the party and the community at heart.” Steve Auty stated “To me, this is such a unique situation I’m not sure where things will go, but I hope it is for the best,. The big challenge for us is getting through the near future together. We’ve seen low oil prices before and lots of people are talking about ghost towns. This isn’t looking like a ghost town to me, and it’s a great time to build our infrastructure and not drop the ball.”

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Ft Mac Politics

Robert Vargo Reaches Legal Settlement With Guy Boutilier, Details Still Private

Guy Boutilier, Robert Vargo

A legal settlement between Robert Vargo and Guy Boutilier has been reached but all of the details are still being kept private and have not been disclosed yet. Vargo filed a legal challenge concerning the eligibility of Guy Boutilier to be on the council based on the residency requirements for the seat that Guy holds. Vargo questioned whether Boutilier actually resided in the Thickwood home that he claimed as his residence in order to be eligible for his council seat. According to the lawyer retained by Boutilier, Jonathan Wescott, “The only purpose of the lawsuit was to challenge him on council, but Guy has resigned to pursue what is best for himself and his family.” Robert Vargo first made an accusation against Guy Boutilier in December of 2014, stating that the council member actually resided in Edmonton and was not actually living in Wood Buffalo. If true this would mean that Boutilier did not meet the residency requirements to run for the council seat that he won in the 2013 election.

Both Guy Boutilier and Robert Vargo have kept silent on the legal settlement that was reached between both parties. The challenge to Boutilier’s position on the council has been dropped as a result of the legal settlement, and this means that non of the accusations have been proven in a court. The attorney for Robert Vargo is Paul Beke. When questioned Beke told the media “I don’t know what was going through his head when he resigned, I obviously can only say that we would have proceeded with our court application. We had already amassed enough evidence to confidently do so. What’s important to Mr. Vargo is that the law is respected and this is one way he felt he was able to achieve that.”

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Ft Mac Politics

Two More People Dispute Guy Boutilier’s Council Seat Eligibility

council seat eligibility, Guy Boutilier
council seat eligibility, Guy Boutilier

Two more people have stepped forward to dispute Guy Boutilier’s council seat eligibility, and both are claiming that they were previous renters of Boutilier. According to the latest claims Guy resided in Edmonton up until the 2013 municipal election, and if that is true that would have made Boutilier ineligible to run for the council seat that he currently holds. Both of the claimants have filed affidavits stating their claims. Dale MacLeod and Lawrence MacLeod, a couple who have sworn that they resided in the Thickwood home of Guy Boutilier as renters from August 2008 through May of 2014. The first person to dispute the council seat eligibility was another renter, Sarah MacLeod, who is also the sister of Lawrence MacLeod.

All 3 of the people who have made claims against Guy Boutilier’s council seat eligibility have not proven their claims in court yet. These claims include that Boutilier maintained te Thickwood home but did not actually reside there, and also that the politician took a northern living allowance when he actually resided in Edmonton so he was not eligible. The MacLeods say that Guy forbade them from taking the credit, and according to Dale MacLeod. “My husband and I didn’t apply for the Northern residents’ deduction on our income tax, because Guy told me not to — he and Gail were applying as ‘residents,’ even though we were the actual residents. During the 2012-2014 period, Guy would never eat meals at the Fort McMurray House. He would come in around midnight and then leave around 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. The basement bedroom was just a place where he would occasionally ‘crash. I never once met Guy’s wife, Gail. One day she was in his vehicle when he stopped by, but she did not get out.”

 

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Alberta Ft Mac Politics

Did Guy Boutilier Live in Thickwood Home According to Election Eligibility Requirements?

Guy Boutilier, Thickwood home, election eligibility
Guy Boutilier, Thickwood home, election eligibility

Councillor Guy Boutilier is at the center of a controversy concerning his election eligibility and whether his Thickwood home was actually his residence when he was running for election. An affidavit has been filed in court documents that suggests Boutilier did not actually live at the Thickwood residence, and this would make him ineligible for the seat on the council that he currently holds. During the municipal election in 2013 the home that Guy Boutilier owns in Thickwood was listed in election documents as his place of residence, but Sarah MacLeod has filed an affidavit in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench that suggests otherwise. MacLeod states “Before the fall of 2013, I had never seen or heard Guy stay over at the Fort McMurray House before, or seen his Acadia SUV parked overnight at the house. I didn’t even know what he looked like until the fall of 2013. Also, I have never seen his wife or family at the Fort McMurray House.”

MacLeod affirms that Guy Boutilier used the Thickwood home for election eligibility only, and that he does not really reside there even though he owns the property. Sarah states that she was renting a room in the Fort MacMurray home, and the master bedroom was rented to another couple. The affidavit alleges that when Boutilier spent the night at the house it was in the basement using a makeshift room. MacLeod stated “When he did sleep over at the Fort McMurray house, I never saw or heard him in the Fort McMurray House during the day. I never saw him use the kitchen or eat at the house. From what I saw, the house was just a place for him to sleep. I never saw or heard Guy staying in the room next to mine from July 2012 until the fall of 2013. “