Sudbury Catholic board chair removed from office

The chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has been removed from office by the city clerk after he failed to file his financial statements from last fall's election in time.

Jody Cameron, who's been with the board since 2000, and has served multiple terms as chair and vice-chair, said he was supposed to provide this information by last Friday.

“The only excuse I can give for that is it's an oversight on my part,” he said. “Other priorities in my life have taken place and there were personal situations going on for me that have preoccupied myself for the last two months.”

Cameron said three family members have passed away in the past two months — his brother, grandmother and aunt.

He said he looked into an appeal process, but said he's heard it would cost him up to $10,000, and that's not an option for him at this time.
“It was just purely an oversight, but I do apologize to the city and to the board and to the community for this happening,” Cameron said.

He said he's disappointed to leave the board, as Sudbury Catholic has a number of projects on the go he'd like to see through, including the construction of two new schools. “I'm going to miss it,” Cameron said.

As for what Sudbury Catholic is going to do to replace him, Cameron said he's not sure, but said the board could hold a byelection or accept applications to become an appointed board member.

Sudbury Catholic District School Board director of education Joanne Bénard is not available to speak on the issue until Tuesday morning.
Officials in the city clerk's office were also not immediately available.

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