Key council recording preserved, says Gananoque staff

Keith Dempsey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brockville Recorder and Times

A recording at the heart of a dispute between Gananoque Mayor John Beddows and other town officials has been preserved, the town has confirmed, as that dispute was headed to the council table.

Gananoque council was scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday to consider Mayor John Beddows’ July 31 open letter, in which the mayor calls on council to publicly disclose information surrounding a preservation notice and restrictions he says have limited his access to Town Hall and communications with municipal staff.

Beddows’ letter is listed on the council agenda under correspondence.

The mayor issued the preservation notice April 22 in connection with ongoing and anticipated legal proceedings. He said its purpose was to ensure relevant municipal records, including the recording of an April 8 council meeting, were preserved.

The town has now confirmed that the April 8 recording was preserved.

In an email Tuesday, town chief administrative officer Melanie Kirkby said staff was able to respond only to questions concerning the recording.

“Yes, the recording of that meeting was preserved, as has been verbally communicated to Mayor Beddows,” Kirkby said.

Beddows had specifically asked whether the recording of the April 8 meeting had been deleted and whether it remained available upon request.

He identified the meeting as 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.

The mayor said the recording was specifically identified in his preservation notice because of those proceedings.

Kirkby said the town could not respond to Beddows’ other questions because they relate to in-camera discussions.

“Council has neither waived its confidentiality on this matter, nor has it discussed in open session, so staff are not permitted to respond,” she said.

In his letter, Beddows said that following a May 6 closed session of council, he met with Deputy Mayor Vicki Leakey and Kirkby on May 11.

He said he was told he would no longer be permitted to meet privately with staff or conduct town business without multiple individuals present, and that a member of council would be included by staff in email communications with him.

Beddows also said he subsequently learned that locks at Town Hall had been changed, alarm codes altered and his after-hours access to the building denied.

In an interview, Beddows questioned how those measures relate to the preservation of municipal records.

“The point of preservation notice was for the preservation of data,” Beddows said. “But they have not made a case as to why these actions enhance the preservation of data.”

In his open letter, Beddows made a similar argument, writing that “the existence or preservation of records is entirely unrelated to who attends a meeting or whether discussions occur in private.”

He further alleged in the letter that the restrictions interfere with his ability to carry out his duties as mayor and chief executive officer of the corporation and represent a response to his preservation request.

Beddows is asking council to publicly release the complete record of its deliberations concerning the April 22 preservation notice, as well as any advice or input received from municipal employees, legal advice, decisions, voting records and directions issued to staff.

His letter also asked Leakey to answer four questions he said he provided following his May 11 meeting, including whether the April 8 recording had been retained or deleted.

Beddows said Leakey did not answer the questions in writing and, according to the mayor, responded: “I will never answer you in writing.”

The town’s response Tuesday thus provides an answer to the first of those questions: the April 8 recording was preserved. The town has not provided answers to the remaining questions, citing confidentiality surrounding in-camera discussions.

Wednesday’s agenda also included a report from CAO Melanie Kirkby examining the town’s 2023 to 2026 legal costs by category. The agenda did not state that the legal-cost report specifically concerned the preservation notice.

The agenda also included an e-scooter information report from Beddows under motions.

Council was scheduled to move into closed session later in the meeting. The agenda listed two matters involving a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to negotiations on behalf of the municipality or a local board, as well as one matter concerning personal information about an identifiable individual, including municipal or board employees.

The agenda did not identify those closed-session matters as being related to the preservation notice.

Beddows’ dispute with council comes amid broader tensions that include a previous integrity commissioner investigation. In 2025, council suspended Beddows’ remuneration for 80 days after an integrity commissioner report found eight of 18 complaints against him to be substantiated.

Beddows has disputed aspects of the findings and has pursued the judicial review.

The mayor has also raised concerns about the use of Ontario’s strong mayor powers in Gananoque. In speaking with The Recorder and Times, Beddows argued that his responsibilities as head of council must be understood within the provincial legislation governing municipalities.

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.

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