Ontario ombudsman to probe incident with Niagara reporter

Ontario’s ombudsman says he will conduct a formal investigation after a journalist and a citizen blogger were reportedly asked to leave the premises at a Niagara Region council meeting and had their property seized.

“This matter has raised serious concerns about the actions and processes of the municipality, and has understandably drawn high public interest,” said Paul Dubé.

Niagara Region officials said they found two electronic devices on the media table during a closed session on Dec. 7 and one of them appeared to be recording. They claim the items were seized and turned over to Niagara police.

The municipality apologized to the St. Catharines Standard reporter last week after looking into the incident further. “After receiving assurances from the St. Catharines Standard’s legal counsel that their journalist, Bill Sawchuk, was not recording the closed session, the one device was returned. Niagara Region apologizes for this inconvenience caused to Mr. Sawchuk,” said the region in a statement.

The ombudsman will also look at whether the meeting itself violated open meeting requirements.

Of the more than 5,800 complaints received about municipalities since the Ombudsman’s mandate was extended to include them in 2016, this is the fifth to become a formal investigation.