A dispute over the preservation of municipal records has escalated into a broader debate over transparency, the mayor’s ability to carry out his duties, and the relationship between Gananoque’s council and its head of council.
Mayor John Beddows says restrictions imposed on him following an April preservation notice have limited his access to Town Hall and his ability to communicate directly with municipal staff. Beddows has publicly questioned how those restrictions contribute to the preservation of records and has called on council and the town to release information surrounding the decisions.
“The point of preservation notice was for the preservation of data,” Beddows said in an interview. “But they have not made a case as to why these actions enhance the preservation of data.”
Town officials have not publicly provided their reasons for the restrictions.
Beddows said the changes were put in place in early May, shortly after he issued the preservation notice on April 22.
“I no longer have a key to Town Hall,” Beddows said. “Or the codes for the alarms. As a CAO of the Corporation, I no longer have access to the building.”
Beddows said he still has access to Town Hall during regular working hours, but no longer has after-hours access.
Before the changes, he said, he regularly worked from his office and occasionally met with constituents or working groups in the evenings.
“So if I want to meet with constituents at, say, 6 p.m., I can’t do so in my office,” he said.
Beddows also said he has been told that when communicating with municipal employees, two other people must be present, while managers have been directed to include at least one member of council on email correspondence involving him.
“In other words, my ability to engage directly with the managers of the town has been explicitly impeded,” he said.
The mayor said he learned the locks had been changed after arriving at Town Hall following a weekend.
“They changed the locks on the weekend. I found out the Monday,” he said.
Beddows argues the measures do not logically follow from his preservation notice, which he said was intended to ensure relevant records were not destroyed, altered or lost.
“How does restricting my access enhance the preservation of data?” he asked.
Preservation notice
The notice specifically referenced the recording of an April 8 council meeting.
According to Beddows, that meeting was significant because council considered renewing the contract of integrity commissioner Tony Fleming, whose previous work involving complaints against Beddows is connected to an ongoing judicial review.
Beddows said he believed the April 8 recording should be preserved because of those proceedings.
The mayor has also questioned whether the recording remains available.
In his July 31 open letter to council, Beddows said he had asked whether the April 8 recording had been deleted and whether it remained available upon request.
He said he also asked which legal firm provided advice concerning the preservation notice, whether council had taken steps to ensure people involved in meetings with him were objective and impartial, and whether council acknowledged that the CAO is employed by the corporation and is responsible to the head of council.
Beddows said Deputy Mayor Vicki Leakey did not answer the questions in writing.
According to Beddows, her response was: “I will never answer you in writing.”
Beddows has characterized that response as inconsistent with his stated goal of greater municipal transparency.
Mayor wants records released
Beddows said he now wants the Town to make public the records surrounding the preservation notice, including decisions, motions, legal opinions and other material related to the restrictions.
“I want them to put all discussion related to the preservation notice into the public domain – all the records of decisions, motions, I want all the legal opinions they paid for, all out into the public domain,” he said.
“And frankly, I believe they need to, because on its face this doesn’t look like it’s designed to preserve data.”
The mayor also said the public should know why his access and communications were restricted.
“They didn’t put any of the reasons for restrictions out in the public, and as far as I can tell, the public is not aware they’ve done these things,” he said.
“I chose to put it out into the public arena because I think this kind of discussion should happen in public and I believe the taxpayers of Gananoque need to understand how council is deciding to do things.”
Beddows has published both his preservation notice and his July 31 open letter.
The preservation dispute is connected to a larger conflict between Beddows and council that dates back to an integrity commissioner investigation.
In May 2025, council suspended Beddows’s remuneration after an Integrity Commissioner report found multiple breaches of the municipality’s code of conduct.
The investigation followed 18 complaints, with eight substantiated, according to the report.
The findings included harassment involving the CAO, discriminatory comments, an offensive sexual joke and aggressive behaviour toward another member of council.
The commissioner recommended a cumulative 80-day suspension of the mayor’s remuneration – 30 days for harassment of the CAO, 30 days for discriminatory comments, five days for the sexual joke and 15 days for aggressive behaviour toward a council member.
Council subsequently imposed the suspension and required Beddows to apologize to town staff.
Other complaints were not substantiated, including an allegation that Beddows directed a Hydro/Fortis vehicle at an emergency scene and allegations concerning his movements through municipal offices.
Beddows disputes aspects of the findings and said the April 8 meeting was particularly important because it involved the future appointment of Fleming as integrity commissioner.
He said he was asked to leave the April 8 meeting after the clerk raised a concern that he had a pecuniary interest in Fleming’s renewal because of the judicial review.
“I didn’t declare a conflict of interest, and under protest I leave the room,” Beddows said.
Council subsequently supported Fleming’s renewal.
Strong mayor powers add another layer
The dispute also comes amid ongoing tension over Gananoque’s use of Ontario’s strong mayor powers.
Beddows said the municipality is governed by provincial legislation and that his responsibilities as mayor must be understood within that framework.
“Municipalities are creatures of the province,” he said. “Every year in any year the province passes statutes, regulations, which change the way we do business.”
Beddows has used his strong mayor powers to issue directives concerning municipal operations and budgets.
He also held a 2027 budget consultation meeting at the Royal Canadian Legion on June 27. He said no members of council attended and that he personally paid for the rental of the hall.
Beddows said some councillors questioned his use of the strong mayor powers during an election year.
“This may be an election year but it’s just another business year for the corporation,” he said.
“No matter who is the mayor (after the upcoming municipal elections), if I’m to fulfill my responsibility as head of council, I still have a job to do.”
Asked whether he plans to seek another term as mayor in the upcoming municipal election, Beddows said: “I’m exploring my options.”
The mayor said his approach to municipal government has sometimes created friction.
“I think I’m a change agent and it makes people uncomfortable,” he said.
“I’m not sure I’m misunderstood. I think a lot of the time my message is unwelcome because it’s a challenging and difficult message.”
He pointed to municipal finances as an example, saying he campaigned in 2022 on the need for significant tax increases to address infrastructure needs.
Beddows said the town has received more than $12 million in provincial grants for core infrastructure over the past three years, while recently taking on significant additional debt for infrastructure projects.
His comments about the Town’s finances were not part of the preservation dispute but were offered as context for his broader approach to municipal governance.
The town was contacted Monday with questions concerning the preservation notice and the restrictions described by Beddows.
Questions were directed to CAO Melanie Kirkby and Clerk Penny Kelly and included requests for the town’s explanation of the restrictions, whether the April 8 recording remains available, the rationale for requiring additional people in communications between the mayor and staff, and whether any legal advice was obtained concerning the preservation notice.
No response was received as of 3:30 p.m. Monday.
The issue is expected to receive further attention at Tuesday’s meeting of Gananoque council, which is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. rather than the usual 5 p.m. Beddows said the meeting agenda includes his July 31 open letter and the preservation notice itself, as well as a report concerning legal costs to the municipality.
He expects the matters to be discussed by council.
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.
By Keith Dempsey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Aug 10, 2026 at 15:43
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