Hamilton City Council claims cannot be done - turns out the Municipal Act DOES NOT prohibit municipalities from being transparent regarding legal spending.

And we're adjourned at 7:59! Thanks for following along!

We're in other business now and Coun. Bierk is commenting on the letter from Chief Betts saying he was "shocked" by the tone and content of the letter. "Budget debate and scrutiny are core responsibilities of this council," adding that he expects all correspondence to be professional moving forward.

Now Riel is speaking to a Jan. 9 letter he received from the Chief of Police Stu Betts. He says the police board should investigate it as it's his understanding that, based on his discussion with Coun. Baldwin who sits on the board, that he was unaware of it.

Coun. Crowley moves a motion asking for staff to report back on the portfolio bylaw. It passes unanimously.

We're on now to a notice of motion on from Coun. Haacke asking staff to report back on the appropriateness of removing a farmhouse located at 314 Carnegie Ave. from the heritage registry noting the receipt of an intention to demolish the existing structure. It passes 9-2 (Bierk and Lachica against)

Councillors are now voting on the designation of 201 George St. N. The Harness Factory built in 1898. Coun. Parnell has moved an amendment stating council has no interest in designating the property and that it should be removed from the heritage registry. The amendment passes 7-3, then unanimous.

Coun. Riel is now asking about the intention behind the formation of a Traffic Technical Working Group. Commissioner Blair Nelson is stating that the report delegate authority on matters related to traffic to staff rather than bringing everything to council.

We're now on to a report on the Ontario Power Generation Host Community funding agreement. Coun. Bierk is asking director of emergency and risk, Jodi DeNoble, about the number of evacuees we would be required to take in in the event of an incident at Pickering or Darlington nuclear sites.

Now Bierk is speaking to the findings of the integrity commissioner's report which found the mayor did not contravene the council code of conduct when he used a racial slur in a Trent lecture in April 2024. "It has been felt deeply in our community," he says.

The special council meeting has now been adjourned and we're back to the regular general committee meeting. First up is Riel speaking to an integrity commissioner report which was brought by city staff against him. He says he has been "fully exonerated" by the report.

There's a significant crowd in the public gallery here tonight, many of whom I understand are here for the discussion on the integrity commissioner report on Leal's use of a racial slur at Trent University last spring. They seem to be no less exasperated by the discussion on the NNFP report.

"I think this is complete elaboration on one's opinion," Lachica says. Leal says it's germane to to the discussion at hand and could set precedent for other municipalities. She says that the mayor (who is chairing this meeting) is out of order and asks the Clerk to rule whether he's in order.

Council has waived solicitor-privilege on the report concerning the end of litigation around the matter of the Northcrest Neighbours for Fair Process. Coun. Crowley is now asking for Potts to speak to the report.

Coun. Baldwin is now making a motion to immediately convene a council meeting immediately to pass the motion which just passed unanimously. Bierk says he has concerns about not allowing the public to weigh in on the report given the normal week's time between committee and council meetings.

There is a report arising from closed session around the conclusion of litigation brought by the Northcrest Neighbours for Fair Process. Coun. Gary Baldwin is considering making a motion that could make the report public by waiving solicitor-client privilege.

I'm at Peterborough City Hall tonight for general committee. Follow along with me here for updates. You can also watch the live stream on the city's website here:

“As we stand outside this courthouse, stepping into five weeks of trial, we know the legitimate right of journalists to do their job, to perform their vital role in our democracy, is at stake.” — Narwhal co-founder Carol Linnitt on our case against the RCMP: thenarwhal.ca/press-freedom/

Betts made the accusations in a letter sent to all of council, the city clerk, CAO and police board chair. “Questioning of a police budget is not anti-police, reckless, or dishonourable,” Riel responded. “Suggesting otherwise is an attempt to intimidate elected officials from doing their jobs."

This story is an admission, in city staff's own words, that Peterborough is being run by unelected officials who expect councillors to not ask questions but instead fall in line behind provided talking points when interacting with media and the public - and what happens to those who ask too much.

'A failure of our Canadian government': Palestinian student stuck in Gaza forced to defer another term at Trent

Despite acknowledging Leal’s conduct was “unacceptable,” the city's integrity commissioner, Guy Giorno, found it did not go against the Code of Conduct.

Big news out of Peterborough City Hall today: The city's integrity commissioner has found that while Mayor Jeff Leal's use of a racial slur during a lecture at Trent University was "unacceptable" it did not contravene council's code of conduct. This is one of four IC reports out today. Stories soon.

What made headlines in 2025 in Peterborough? A look back at the year that was

During his remarks, Betts said, without citing specific examples or specific outlets, that media organizations have turned toward styles of reporting that care less about facts and mirror the discourse on social media platforms.

Peterborough's Modular Bridge Housing Community at Wolfe Street chooses new name as it celebrates second anniversary

There is so much more to this agreement than a mythical pipeline. Here's an insightful rundown of the climate policies it proposes to weaken: thenarwhal.ca/carney-alber...

I know the chief of police is upset about journalists and "fake news" so I'd encourage him to get off social media and respond to calls like this so I can stop having to write this kind of story about the community I live in and care about deeply.

Doubling down and advancing broad generalizations diminishing the work of journalists working in increasingly understaffed newsrooms. Really good look in 2025.

Learning now Chief Betts called out all traditional media, which is frankly worse. When the chief of police is actively working to foster distrust of journalists in the community he is supposed to serve as a public official, he is working against a basic principle of democracy. Do better, Stu.

Glad he's moved on from doing this in the comment section on our website. Brave.

NDP leader files ethics complaint against Northumberland—Peterborough South MPP

“Municipalities and charitable/not-for-profit organizations should not be unnecessarily exposed to litigation by nominal corporate applicants simply because the implementation of municipal powers is questioned,” Justice Susan Woodley wrote in her decision.

Here is my story from today as meetings on the 2026 Peterborough City Budget wrap up.

The saga continues...

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That's a wrap on my time here covering the city budget meetings for this year. Barring some unforeseen circumstances the talks will end today and the budget should be approved on Dec. 8. @joellekovach.bsky.social has you covered this afternoon! Thanks for following along with me here. Off to write!

Coun. Crowley is asking what the impact would be if the city decided to defund the Community Project and Community Investment grants. Commissioner Laidman says there would be an impact to about 23 organizations in the community. Crowley thanks him. No motion. No cuts here...yet.

Coun. Bierk is now speaking to the economic impact of the arts in the community, and especially the grants to individual artist grants. "That program delivers enormous value for very little cost," he said. He has a motion supporting a staff recommendation and to to retore $25k to the grant program.

Mayor Jeff Leal now says he will be supporting the motion on charging for parking at the zoo. The zoo is not free to operate, he says. The vote is carried 6-5.

Coun. Gary Baldwin is now putting forward a motion to explore "parking and other revenue generating opportunities at the Riverview Park and Zoo" as part of the 2027 budget. Suggests maybe parking would target out of town visitors to the institution.

We're back from break now and Commissioner of Finance Richard Freymond is giving what councillors are calling the "State of the Union" address to councillors. Thus far, Freymond is recounting where we are thus far in budget talks.

Now Leal is asking airport manager, Kyle Bruce, whether there will be "big signs" for the airport following its official name change. "I mean REALLY big signs," he repeats as Bruce explains there are restrictions on the size of signs in Peterborough. Mercifully, we are on break now.

Mayor Jeff Leal briefly raised the prospect of Peterborough being an attractive spot for an AI data centre to be built due to its proximity to so much available water in the area.

Commissioners Freymond and Simanovskis are now discussing the approximately $1.09M in savings achieved through the decision to bring drinking water services in-house. The 2026 budget proposes a 3.5% increase in the water rate. Here's some background on the decision:

Coun. Vassiliadis moves a motion, which passes unanimously, that the operation hours of the County/City landfill not be extended. This is in line with a recommendation in a staff report showing the annual cost of extending landfill service hours would be about $320,00. That report can be found here:

We're on to evironmental services and waste management. Coun. Bierk is asking about concerns he's hearing from downtown businesses regarding the number of small recycling bins they need to put out for collection. Says they create congestion on the sidewalks and take up a lot of space for owners.

Lost in some of this discussion on transit and the operation's budget is the fact that baked into the 2026 budget is a $0.25 cent increase to the transit fare. This hasn't been raised as part of the discussion thus far.

Coun. Matt Crowley asks about the impact of reducing funding for new bus replacements. Simanovskis again advises againt this, noting it would mean the city falls further behind. Crowley makes it clear he's "just asking the questions" and that he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't. No cuts.

Coun. Alex Bierk says that he's concerned about the lack of designated funding for accessible bus shelters in the city. Commissioner Simanovskis responds that there is some work underway. Bierk follows up that he hopes Simanovskis can take into account delegations from residents on this issue.