Transparency, accountability at risk: Gananoque mayor
Mayor John Beddows says transparency and public accountability are at risk in Gananoque following a pair of recent council motions involving public access to meetings and the municipality’s integrity commissioner complaint process.
The comments come after council voted to defer a decision on publicly recording and releasing council meetings until the next term of council. The motion was introduced by Coun. David Osmond.
Council also unanimously supported a separate motion from Osmond directing staff to review the municipality’s integrity commissioner complaint process, including the possibility of introducing fees ranging from $500 to $1,000 for complaints involving council conduct.
Beddows criticized both developments, arguing they could weaken accountability at Town Hall.
“You can’t build a legacy of accountability and transparency if you defer transparency and build barriers to accountability,” said Beddows.
The debate comes amid ongoing tensions surrounding the municipality’s integrity commissioner process. Osmond has been the subject of three integrity commissioner complaints, all of which were ultimately dismissed or closed without findings of wrongdoing.
Osmond said the complaints process has been personally difficult and financially costly for taxpayers.
“For me, it feels personal, intentional, strategic, weaponized and hard not to think it’s political,” Osmond said. “I’m hopeful that I am wrong.”
In October 2025, Osmond was cleared following a complaint connected to comments involving the mayor’s strong mayor budget powers and remarks related to Quebec licence plates. Osmond said the matter cost taxpayers approximately $2,260.
A second complaint filed in November 2025 was dismissed without investigation after the integrity commissioner determined the allegations lacked merit, according to Osmond. He said the initial review cost approximately $800, while an appeal filed by the complainant required an additional response costing roughly $200.
“So roughly $1,000 to the taxpayers,” Osmond said of the second complaint process.
A third complaint, Osmond said, stemmed from an exchange involving cats and his use of the word “screed” in a written response to a resident.
“I spent over an hour trying to provide a thorough response to a resident,” Osmond said. “I appreciate any email I receive and even when I don’t share their opinion I believe they deserve the respect of a response.”
Osmond said he requested that the related letters be made public, but was advised that doing so could reveal the identity of the complainant.
He described the overall experience as stressful and damaging to the municipality’s reputation.
“Even when the results are out it’s hard not to be stressed and embarrassed because it brings more bad press to our community and has a negative impact on Town Hall as a whole and the fine people that work for the Town of Gananoque,” he said.
Osmond maintains there should be some cost associated with filing complaints and said his motion only requests a staff report outlining possible options and recommendations. One option could involve retaining filing fees if complaints are dismissed, with funds potentially offsetting legal costs.
Beddows, meanwhile, said he supported having staff prepare a report but made it clear he would oppose any final proposal that creates financial barriers to complaints being filed.
“I told council I’d vote in favour of a staff report to see what comes back,” Beddows said, “but after reviewing the report I would vote against anything that creates a cost or barrier or gateways to submitting complaints.”
The dispute also intersects with a broader disagreement surrounding the role of the town’s integrity commissioner, Tony Fleming, who also serves as legal counsel for the municipality.
Beddows has long argued the dual role represents a conflict of interest.
On May 4, Beddows requested an investigation by the Ombudsman of Ontario into the conduct of council and the town clerk during an April 8 council meeting involving deliberations over Fleming’s possible reappointment as integrity commissioner.
“To make sure that an impartial and objective record of the meeting was available to the Ombudsman, I served a preservation notice to the Town, specifically referring to the recording of the April 8 meeting, to ensure it wouldn’t be deleted by the clerk as is the normal practice after approval of the minutes at the next meeting,” Beddows said.
“Situations such as this is part of why we need recordings of council meetings,” he added.
The issues surrounding council transparency, governance and accountability are expected to remain key topics in Gananoque as the municipality moves closer to the 2026 municipal election campaign.
Keith Dempsey is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Brockville Recorder and Times. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.