HALDIMAND—Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley could face a 120-day suspension of pay for her role in leaking confidential emails in February 2025, with Haldimand’s Integrity Commissioner David Boghosian determining the leak was intended to discredit Norfolk Mayor Amy Martin during her bid for MPP.
Boghosian’s report will be discussed at an upcoming Council meeting, where Haldimand’s six councillors will have final say on the appropriate penalty. Boghosian also recommended the mayor be required to issue a public apology to Martin.
The issue first came to light after former CAO Cathy Case noticed confidential documents posted anonymously to Facebook on February 28, launching a joint investigation with Norfolk County’s CAO as the post suggested the leak originated in Norfolk.
The documents related to the merger of the Haldimand Norfolk and Brant health units, now known as Grand Erie Public Health. It included a letter written by Martin on November 6, 2024 as Chair of Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit removing Bentley from the merger committee, along with ensuing emails and letters sent November 12 and 13. The merger was completed without Bentley on December 2, with both her and Martin on the current Board of Health.
Boghosian’s 55-page report detailed his final findings that Bentley was responsible for the leak, despite her repeated claims otherwise. Notably:
Bentley had a personal friendship with MPP Bobbi Ann Brady, Martin’s rival, at the time.
Bentley was “upset and annoyed” at being removed from the merger committee.
The post was submitted to Dunnville Talks on the eve of the provincial election (although only published by administrators after) by Port Dover resident Mike Liscombe, a member of Citizens Advocating for Responsible Development (CARD).
Liscombe posted photos of hardcopy documents. Bentley’s assistant Kendle Columbus testified to having printed the documents for Bentley February 18, with no evidence that the documents were printed or circulated by anyone else.
“I reject Mayor Bentley’s explanation that she printed out the merger-related documents … because they were ‘important’,” said Boghosian, noting the merger was completed then.
Liscombe is a friend of the mayor and her spouse, Rick Beaudet.
The report details the disdain Liscombe and Beaudet have for Martin, with texts between the two including images of a Martin campaign brochure on fire and one depicting cartoon devil horns drawn over Martin’s face. Boghosian also asserts that Bentley herself bore “significant animosity and resentment toward Mayor Martin.”
Liscombe stated under investigation that he received the printed documents from a ‘mystery woman’ at his place of business. However, he previously stated in a newspaper interview that he found the documents online.
“The notion that some woman dropped the documents off who he did not recognize and cannot describe beyond gender is simply preposterous,” said Boghosian.
While Boghosian could not determine precisely how Liscombe received the documents, he proposed scenarios involving either Bentley or Beaudet, but “that either way, Mayor Bentley was fully behind their transmission to Mr. Liscombe.”
Despite a May 20 Council discussion in which Haldimand’s legal counsel explicitly stated the documents in question are confidential, Bentley also posted the documents to her personal Facebook page on May 26, “where they remain up to this day,” said Boghosian.
In total, Boghosian’s report lists four code of conduct violations. The first for releasing the confidential documents initially, a second for using the documents to benefit MPP Brady, and the last two for sharing the documents herself on Facebook and with the media.
While Boghosian admits the initial investigation did not conclusively find Bentley to be responsible, he said, “It certainly pointed an accusatory finger at her…. I find that she was aware at the time of the subject Council meeting that she was the one who disclosed confidential information to a member of the public.”
As for the recommended penalty, Boghosian reasoned in addition to the code of conduct violations, Bentley “refused to admit that she was the one who leaked the documents that formed the post, leading to considerable, unnecessary expense to both Haldimand County and Norfolk County taxpayers for the cost of the Glacis Report and to Haldimand County taxpayers alone for the cost of my report. Had she admitted she was the one who leaked the documents at the outset, all of that expense could have been avoided.”
See next week’s Press for a further breakdown of Boghosian’s report.
