Elliot Lake CAO 'relieved of his duties'

First the mayor, now the CAO.

Daniel Gagnon is no longer the Chief Administrative Officer of Elliot Lake after being "relieved of his duties" yesterday.

ElliotLakeToday, a sister site of SooToday, first broke the news of Gagnon's departure last night, citing a source with knowledge of the situation. 

Acting Mayor Andrew Wannan initially said he could neither confirm nor deny Gagnon's employment status with the city. "You'll have to wait for the news release," he told ElliotLakeToday.

Gagnon could not be reached for comment.

Gagnon's exit comes just three months after mayor Chris Patrie was ordered removed from office for breaching two sections of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. Patrie is appealing that court ruling.

After serving the city in various positions from 2001 to 2010, Gagnon was named interim then permanent CAO in 2010 before departing for North Glengarry in February 2011 to take a job as CAO.

He returned to Elliot Lake in 2017 and was hired back as CAO in what then-mayor Dan Marchisella described as "a mutually beneficial do-over." He officially took the position on Jan. 2, 2018.

Below is the full news release issued by The City of Elliot Lake:

ELLIOT LAKE – The City of Elliot Lake has parted ways with its Chief Administrative Officer, Daniel Gagnon. Mr. Gagnon has been the CAO of the City since January 2018 but he was relieved of his duties by Council on Wednesday.

“I wish Mr. Gagnon only the best in his future endeavours. This was a difficult decision which should not be viewed as an acrimonious departure. Daniel made important contributions to the City during his tenure but we believed it was time now, early in our mandate, to make a change with the senior officer of the administration,” said Andrew Wannan, Acting Mayor.

Ms. Natalie Bray, Director of Clerks and Planning Services has been named Acting CAO in the interim until the Council makes a decision about future direction.

As with all Human Resource matters, no further comments will be forthcoming at this time.