Mayor found guilty in four code of conduct violations
HALDIMAND—Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley will face her Council peers on Tuesday, September 22, 2025 to answer for four code of conduct violations issued by Integrity Commissioner David Boghosian in relation to a series of leaked confidential documents.
As outlined in last week’s Press, those documents were centred around Norfolk Mayor and Board of Health Chair Amy Martin removing Bentley from the health unit merger committee in November 2024.
Bentley’s assistant Kendle Columbus said she printed the documents on February 18, 2025 at Bentley’s request. Photos of what Boghosian’s report concludes were the same hardcopy documents were posted to Dunnville Talks the following week by Mike Liscombe, a friend of Bentley and her husband, Rick Beaudet.
While Liscombe refused to participate in the initial investigation by Glacis Security and Investigations, he was examined by Boghosian under oath by summons.
Liscombe submitted a series of texts and emails between himself and Beaudet. On February 14, Liscombe texted Beaudet a picture of a burning Martin campaign flyer, while Beaudet sent one back of devil horns doodled on a flyer over Martin’s face. According to the report, Liscombe called Martin a “liar and a cheat” during examination.
Liscombe stated the leaked documents were given to him by a ‘mystery woman’ at his Hagersville business. The report said, “He described the person who left the documents as a female but claimed he did not recognize her and was unable to provide any further description.”
Liscombe joined Dunnville Talks February 26, and the post, submitted anonymously, was approved on February 28.
Questioned about the intent of a text February 25 in which Beaudet wrote “I’m here,” Liscombe could not recall any specifics of their meeting but denied any drop off or exchange of documents.
Liscombe asserted the documents should not be confidential and said he only posted them anonymously to avoid “heat.”
Beaudet characterized his texts with Liscombe as humour between the friends, not animosity toward Martin. He said he never had possession of the documents or any knowledge of how Liscombe obtained them.
Beaudet said he discusses politics “to a point” with his wife and is friends with MPP Bobbi Ann Brady as well. He referred to Martin as a “nasty thing.”
Bentley did not participate in the initial Glacis investigation into the leak because, “according to her, there has been a private investigator following her since she was elected in 2022 in relation to the Empire Communities MZO. She stated that she felt offended by the request to be interviewed by a private investigator,” the report read.
In her conversation with Boghosian, Bentley confirmed her friendship with Brady dates to 2022.
“She defined the scope of their friendship as akin to a political relationship, in that they have a ‘little’ bit of a friendship but do not know each other’s children nor do they meet socially, such as to have coffee or meals together,” read the report. “They will attend gatherings or functions together with others, like going out after a debate.”
Boghosian noted comments made by Brady in a November 2024 social media post referencing Martin “trying to disadvantage” Haldimand County residents. As it was around the time Bentley was removed from the merger committee, Boghosian suggested to Bentley that Brady’s post referenced this issue and that Brady “was aware of the inner workings of that committee.” Bentley denied knowing what Brady was referring to or ever discussing the confidential information with her.
Bentley said her support of Brady did not reflect any animosity toward Martin, and that she thought Martin did a fine job as mayor.
As to why Bentley had the documents in question printed, she said that over the 2024/25 Christmas holidays, items would “just disappear” from her email. She claimed IT fixed the issue, but she requested hardcopies for safekeeping.
Haldimand’s Chief Information Officer Mike Brousseau said no one contacted the IT department in or around December or January regarding deleted emails, but that the mayor had previously had some issues related to her VPN resolved.
When Bentley was asked what other important documents she printed out, “the only others she could recall related to an MZO process (which was still ongoing) as well as some documents about her ‘former clients,’” the report said, noting that the latter seemed irrelevant, so that line of questioning wasn’t pursued.
When asked about the importance of the merger documents considering they related only to a process concluded months earlier, “she had no real response beyond that she thought that the documents were important and did not want them to go missing.”
Bentley said the documents stayed in a wheely cart that she brings home daily. It is not locked. While Beaudet would have access to the cart, Bentley said to the best of her knowledge, he had never accessed it.
While Haldimand’s legal counsel Woody McKaig confirmed in a May 20, 2025 Council meeting that the documents are confidential, Bentley asserts that in a November 2024 Zoom call, he said he didn’t think they were. McKaig said he recalled no such conversation, maintaining that he always believed the documents to be confidential.
Boghosian noted his unsuccessful attempts to interview Brady, with the MPP stating only that she was not involved. He said she was “initially uncooperative in arranging to be served” with a formal summons.
“After I pointed out that not cooperating in being served would not reflect well on her in my report, she made arrangements to be served,” he said.
Brady’s examination was scheduled for the morning of September 5; she was directed to produce all of the emails and texts between her and Bentley within a stipulated time frame prior to the examination. In the mid-afternoon on September 4, Boghosian received a letter from an Ottawa-based law firm stating that pursuant to parliamentary privilege, Brady didn’t have to be examined.
Boghosian called the move frustrating and disappointing. He did not pursue a court application to compel Brady to be examined “in light of the cost and delay such a proceeding would cause, and the apparent determination of MPP Brady not to divulge to her constituents what she knows, if anything, about the matter.”
Following the report’s release, Brady released a weekly column discussing the use of integrity commissioners and parliamentary privilege, while the local Progressive Conservative Association has taken aim at Brady’s use of the privilege. The Press will provide a deeper look at parliamentary privilege in an upcoming edition.
Boghosian ultimately found Bentley guilty of four code of conduct violations related to leaking the documents. He recommended a 120-day suspension of pay and the requirement for a public apology to Martin. Any such decisions will be determined by Council on September 22.
Boghosian’s full report is available through Haldimand’s Accountability and Transparency page at bit.ly/3HZHwip.
Online reaction
There has been significant public reaction to the report since its release last week, ranging from calls for Bentley to step down to accusations against Boghosian that his findings are inaccurate or biased.
Many Boghosian critics have cited his previous removal from an Integrity Commissioner position in Sudbury. According to a CBC report from November 2024, the move came after Sudbury councillors rejected the recommendations included in one of three code of conduct complaint reports submitted by Boghosian at the time.
Sudbury Councillor Bill Leduc was the subject of one of Boghosian’s reports, based on complaints around allegedly misogynistic social media posts. In his motion to fire Boghosian, Leduc called Boghosian’s reports a “distraction for Council and to the public.”
Brady made similar claims on her social media page, writing, “One week ago we were discussing a city of 40,000 at the Nanticoke Industrial Park and four councillors were taking the heat. One week later, an integrity commissioner report containing ‘feelings’ has distracted us from the biggest issue in years facing our entire riding. Who is running the show here? I won’t sleep until I get to the bottom of it and I certainly will not let the channel changers ruin my reputation or that of good people.”
Boghosian is currently an integrity commissioner in 14 municipalities, including both Haldimand and Norfolk.
In response to the online criticism, Boghosian said his report should be “viewed on the merits – on the facts that have been presented – not based on character bashing by some fringe elements. I have no ‘skin in the game’ whatsoever when it comes to the political scene in your area. My report was based exclusively on an impartial review of the evidence.”
Stay tuned to The Press for more details as they develop.
