Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

Atikokan is run by an elected council of 7 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the town day to day.

Current council

• MayorRob Fergusonrob.ferguson@atikokan.ca
• CouncillorJim Johnsonjim.johnson@atikokan.ca
• CouncillorGord Knowlesgord.knowles@atikokan.ca
• CouncillorSarah Lyonssarah.lyons@atikokan.ca
• CouncillorGord Martingord.martin@atikokan.ca
• CouncillorLiz Shineliz.shine@atikokan.ca
• CouncillorBrian Stimsonbrian.stimson@atikokan.ca

Names and official email addresses from the town's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.

• Yes
  Audited financial statements posted online

  The Financial Reporting & Budgeting page lists audited statements for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. We did not find statements for 2025 on that page when we read it on October 7, 2026. The auditor's report on the 2024 statements is dated July 14, 2026. Source

• Partly
  Budget posted online

  The page links "2026 Budget Schedules" (a four-page extract with the budget summary, capital list and reserves) and a file called "Adopt Estimates Tax Rates and Tax Ratios". We could not read the second file because it has no text we can extract (it is a picture of pages), so we did not use it. We did not find a full budget book or notes explaining the lines. Source

• Unknown
  Council agendas and minutes

  The Town links its agendas and minutes from a CivicWeb portal. That portal's robots.txt asks all automated readers to stay out of the whole site, so we did not open it. We could not check whether minutes are up to date, how often council meets in closed session, or what declarations of interest were made. Source

• Unknown
  Council pay and expenses statement

  We did not find a yearly statement of council pay and expenses on the Town's pages we read, and a search of the site for "remuneration" returned nothing. It may be in the agendas on the portal we could not open. Source

1. Send the request in writing to the town clerk (the freedom of information coordinator), on the town’s form or in a letter, with the $5 application fee.
2. Describe the records, not the answer you want. Dates, departments and the kind of record (a list, invoices, emails) make a request quicker and cheaper.
3. The town has 45 business days to answer (the law changed in 2026; older guides say 30 days). It can charge for search time and copies, but must send an estimate first if the fees will be over $25.
4. Some parts can be held back, such as legal advice or personal information about other people. The town must say which part of the law it relied on.
5. If you are refused, or the fees seem too high, you can appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner within 30 business days of the town’s decision.

The town's request form (on its Forms page) · The law · Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

• Status of the contractor lien claim in note 20

  The audited statements for 2023 and 2024 both describe a $1,899,000 claim and give no detail.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please send the date the claim was filed, the project it relates to, the current status, and the total legal costs the Town has paid on it to date. Please also send any staff report to council about it, with anything legally privileged removed.

  Copy the wording

• What makes up accounts receivable at December 31, 2024

  Accounts receivable went from $2,047,185 to $6,899,778 and the statements give no breakdown.

  Show the request wordingHide the wording

  I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please send a list of the accounts receivable at December 31, 2024 grouped by who owes the money (federal grants, provincial grants, other), and how much of each had been paid by July 14, 2026.

  Copy the wording

The wording is a starting point, not legal advice. Narrow the dates if the town says a request is too broad or too costly.