Dear Editor:
This is in response to Leon DeGagne’s letter last week. Leon’s decades of experience as a successful local business owner give him strong credibility when speaking about fiscal responsibility. Due to space, I will focus specifically on the Hallett tugboat rentals, as that is the matter I was involved in and the one I have heard the most about. I had a declared conflict of interest regarding the Agency One litigation and was on the losing side of the 4–3 vote on the roundabout.
For full transparency, I was appointed to Council in December 2024 and attended my first meeting in January 2025. Leon is also my next-door neighbour, and we have shared coffee and conversations for years. Some assumed I provided him with information for his letter. In fact, Leon raised these concerns with me, not the other way around.
Leon brought the Hallett rental issue to my attention in March 2025. He was right to question it, and I took it seriously. I immediately raised the matter with the Mayor and Town administration. Our CAO, who had only recently taken on the role, was genuinely unaware that cement barriers were still being rented under arrangements that had carried over from the 2022 flood emergency. I obtained a quote demonstrating that purchasing the barriers outright would be significantly more economical than continuing to rent them. The CAO acted promptly, and the rented barriers were replaced with purchased ones, which are now Town assets available for future use.
The Hallett tugboat situation itself is more complex than it may appear. The vessel was removed from the Rainy River during the 2022 flood on an emergency basis, not as part of a planned project. Emergency, month-to-month decisions are often made under different pressures than decisions made in normal circumstances. I was also advised that the Province had covered most of the rental costs through emergency flood funding, and I believe Mayor and Council were unaware that the rentals were continuing beyond that period.
Council had expected the Hallett to be moved last year; however, bids came in significantly higher than estimates. In September 2025, I brought forward a motion to amend our procurement policy to attract more competitive bids and better protect taxpayers.
Taxpayers deserve transparency and responsible oversight. Council is not administration. Our one direct employee is the CAO. Our role is to set policy, provide direction, and hold administration accountable — and that is exactly what I will continue to do.
Sincerely,
Bill Morrison
Councillor, Town of Fort Frances
