The City of Peterborough’s integrity commissioner Guy Giorno has cleared Peterborough city councillors Keith Riel and Lesley Parnell and Mayor Jeff Leal after finding none of the incidents submitted by complainants breached council’s code of conduct and, in relation to a complaint against Riel, the member of council–staff relations policy.

The four reports, which were released publicly on Thursday (January 8), will be received by council when it meets as general committee on Monday.

As for why all four reports were released at the same time, in two of the reports Giorno noted “I have moved promptly to complete the remaining reports” after he issued his 55-page May 2025 report that found Mayor Leal contravened council’s code of conduct by bullying and intimidating councillors Joy Lachica and Alex Bierk.

City of Peterborough staff complaint against councillor Keith Riel

In the most detailed report, People and Culture Division v. Riel, 2025 ONMIC 9 (dated December 19, 2025), Giorno reviewed a complaint forwarded by the city’s people and culture division alleging that councillor Keith Riel treated a staff member in the division disrespectfully in relation to the city’s eviction of a homelessness encampment in July 2024 and creation of a temporary shelter.

At the time, Riel was serving as portfolio co-chair for housing and homelessness and was responding to media and public inquiries about the eviction. Riel pressed staff for details on the operation and expressed frustration at not being briefed in advance about the location of the temporary shelter. The staff complainant alleged this amounted to intimidation and a breach of the council-staff relations policy.

Giorno found that, while Riel’s emails to staff included “some hyperbolic and petulant content,” they did not make personal attacks, and hyperbole and petulance along do not contravene the code of conduct or the staff relations policy.

He also found no evidence supporting an allegation that Riel “marginalized” a staff member during a public meeting with local business representatives to discuss issues related to the operation of a shelter in the Trinity Community Centre.

“Had I been able to make a finding that a staff member had been humiliated in this manner, I would have concluded that section 13 (of the code of conduct) was breached,” Giorno wrote.

While dismissing the complaint against councillor Riel, Giorno found some of his emails “disturbing” and cautioned him that he is “on notice that, going forward, the full weight of the policy and the code will apply to any email that treats the staff disrespectfully or unprofessionally or that comments on a staff member’s performance (unless directed solely to the CAO).”

Giorno also found that the city’s portfolio system “perhaps blurs the line between the role of councillors and the role of the staff” and that council may want to consider clarifying expectations around the portfolio co-chairs’s roles, access to information, and staff relationships “given that the managerial and operational responsibilities reside with the city’s staff.”

Complaints against Mayor Jeff Leal’s use of a racial slur

In his second most detailed report, Trent Central Student Association et al. v. Leal, 2025 ONMIC 11 (dated December 22, 2025), Giorno addressed nine complaints that Mayor Jeff Leal breached the code of conduct during a March 19 guest lecture at Trent University where he used an anti-Black racial slur when referring to former U.S. president Lyndon Johnson.

“Lyndon Johnson was an FDR New Dealer,” Leal said during the lecture. “He came out of the hills of Texas. He used this language that you would never use today, and he talked about the poor [N-word plural] and Mexicans that he taught Sunday school to.”

The nine complaints — including from Trent Central Student Association and the Afrocentric Awareness Network of Peterborough, which also included a change.org petition with more than 800 signatures — alleged that the mayor’s use of the slur breached the code of conduct, with most complainants finding the mayor’s apology for the use of the slur “insufficient” and calling for the mayor’s resignation.

While Giorno described the slur as “odious” and said the mayor’s use of the term was “not acceptable,” he found that the code of conduct does not currently apply to speech made in an academic setting where the mayor was not acting in his official capacity. He suggested council may wish to amend the code to address conduct that occurs outside council chambers but affects community trust.

With respect to the calls for the mayor’s resignation, Giorno wrote that an integrity commissioner currently has no authority to recommend a municipal politician be removed from office.

“Any resident is free to call for the mayor to resign but removal from office is not presently a possible outcome of an integrity commissioner inquiry,” he states, noting that the proposed Bill 9, the Municipal Accountability Amendment Act would provide municipal integrity commissioners with the ability to recommend the removal of a municipal politician under certain conditions.

Giorno also included a detailed statement he received from Mayor Leal about the incident, in which the mayor explained that he was unaware at the time that it was unacceptable to speak the word, but that he now understands “the current cohorts of students never say the word aloud.”

“At the time of the lecture, I was not aware of this shift in practice in an academic setting, for me, this does shed light on why some of the Trent students took offence to my direct quote of Johnson,” Leal wrote in part.

In the report’s recommendations, Giorno noted that city council may wish to ask the staff to report back on the recommendation of the Trent Central Student Association that the city’s strategic plan be amended to include anti-racism and race relations as a strategic priority under the community and wellbeing pillar.

Complaints against use of strong mayor powers and public meeting chair Lesley Parnell

In report Re Parnell, 2025 ONMIC 10 (dated December 19, 2025), Giorno dismissed five separate complaints arising from a February 24, 2025 general committee meeting where Mayor Jeff Leal used strong mayor powers to bring forward two by-laws expediting Brock Mission’s proposed transitional housing project at 738 Chemong Road.

Complainants alleged that councillor Lesley Parnell, who was chairing the public meeting under the Planning Act, mishandled procedural matters and curtailed public participation, contravening council’s code of conduct, while others alleged misuse of strong mayor powers and Planning Act deficiencies.

Giorno declined to conduct a formal inquiry, finding that procedural rulings of the chair, the exercise of strong mayor powers, council decisions, and enforcement of provincial planning requirements fall outside the scope of an integrity commissioner. He added that none of the allegations, even if proven, would constitute a breach of the code of conduct.

“In light of my conclusion that nothing alleged amounts to a breach of code and the matter is outside my jurisdiction, and for other grounds set out in this report, I have not initiated an inquiry and will be closing the file,” Giorno wrote.

Political signage complaint against councillor Lesley Parnell

In report Anderson v. Parnell, 2025 ONMIC 5 (dated December 15, 2025), Giorno dismissed a complaint against councillor Lesley Parnell that she attempted to intimidate residents into removing “Save Bonnerworth Park” lawn signs opposing a redevelopment plan for the park.

Giorno confirmed Parnell did ask two residents to remove their signs, arguing the issue had already been decided, but found she did not threaten the residents or use her position as a councillor to influence removal of the signs.

“Freedom of expression belongs to everyone,” Giorno wrote. “In the case of Bonnerworth Park, both sides had the right to express their views freely. Councillor Parnell had as much a right to express herself as did the complainant and the residents with lawn signs.”

Giorno concluded the exchange amounted to persuasion rather than intimidation and did not breach the code of conduct.

However, Giorno added that councillors should “in future be wary about attempting to persuade people to stop expressing themselves.”

GreenUP grew over 5,000 native plants in 2025 and supported the planting of hundreds of others. In celebration of these restoration efforts, along with newly installed tree identification signage at Ecology Park, GreenUP will highlight a few select native trees in a three-part series over the holidays.

Winter once drew a firm line through Ontario’s forests, having the final say on which species could endure and which could not. With the ongoing effects of climate change, that line is becoming less distinct.

When the cold begins to fade and spring arrives, some things may appear slightly out of place: pink blossoms on bare branches, unfamiliar leaf shapes emerging, or a species not expected to be seen this far north. These small changes don’t announce themselves as climate change, but together they hint at shifting boundaries and local forests responding to new conditions.

Southern Ontario is home to an area known as the Carolinian zone, a region that extends north from the Gulf Coast of the United States into Canada. While it makes up less than one per cent of Canada’s total landmass, the Carolinian zone supports more than half of the country’s native tree species. This extraordinary concentration of biodiversity exists at a climatic edge, where temperature has long determined which species could survive Canadian winters.

Among the tree species now appearing beyond their traditional ranges are eastern redbud, cucumber magnolia, and pawpaw — trees commonly associated with Ontario’s Carolinian forests. Each sits near the northern edge of their historical range, where winter cold once limited survival, flowering, or fruiting. These trees’ northward appearances reflect different paths to persistence, shaped by both environmental change and human influence.

With bright pink flowers emerging directly from bare branches, and large, heart-shaped leaves to follow, eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) is hard to miss. Long valued for its ornamental appeal, this tree has been widely planted in parks, streetscapes, and gardens, often far beyond its historic range.

What has changed is not where redbud is planted, but instead, where it can persist. Increasingly milder winters have enabled this relatively short-lived species to survive and flower more consistently farther north, providing a clear example of how human activities and climate conditions intersect.

Listed as endangered on Ontario’s species at risk list, the cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata) is Canada’s only native magnolia tree. Known for its wavy leaves, yellow-green flowers, and distinctive cucumber-like seed structure, this tree could once be found within mature forest landscapes.

Its limited distribution reflects both a natural narrow range and sensitivity to cold, particularly during early growth and flowering. As winters grow milder, the conditions that once limited survival at the northern edge of its range may be slowly easing.

Cold temperatures aren’t the only factor limiting this species. Although cucumber magnolia is the largest of North America’s native magnolias, capable of reaching more than 30 metres in height, its growth is slow and takes decades to mature. Young magnolias are especially vulnerable to late spring frosts, and even well-established trees are dependent on stable, mature forest conditions to persist.

Together, these traits make cucumber magnolia a species defined by patience. The future of this tree is dependent less on sudden change and more on long stretches of stability, where trees are given the time they need to grow and flourish.

The pawpaw (Asmina triloba) offers a different kind of story.

This small understory tree produces green mango-shaped fruit with a soft custard-like flesh, which tastes more similar to banana or mango than anything else grown in Ontario. While not especially fast-growing in the area, the trees may take eight to 10 years to flower and fruit.

Historically, fruits from the pawpaw were eaten by large mammals that could carry and disperse the seeds across the forest. Today, pawpaw seeds are primarily dispersed over short distances by smaller mammals like raccoons, opossums, and foxes, while human planting has become an important factor in helping this species persist. Whether in yards, restoration projects or forest edges, people are now essential to pawpaw’s continued survival and spread.

All together, these trees show how Ontario’s forests are responding to changing conditions in their own respective ways.

Some, like redbud, show the immediate impact of human planting and milder winters. Others, like the cucumber magnolia, move slowly and depend on longer-term stability. And the pawpaw demonstrates how species that were once connected to the larger forest ecosystem now rely on people to help them thrive.

Observing these changes reminds us that forests are not static; they are living, shifting communities, shaped by both nature and human hands.

Visit Ecology Park to see these native tree species and the newly installed tree identification signage, funded in part by Trans Canada Trail, and featuring Anishnaabemowin translation of the tree names courtesy of Curve Lake First Nation and The Creators Garden.

You can support GreenUP’s work to restore native habitat locally by donating today at greenup.on.ca/donate-now/.

Peterborough police have charged one of their own after an off-duty officer discharged a privately owned firearm inside of a west-end home on New Year’s Eve, with the bullet exiting the officer’s home and striking a neighbouring home.

After an investigation, police arrested the officer on Wednesday (January 7) and charged them with careless discharge of a firearm. Police have not identified the officer who has been charged.

“I recognize that anytime criminal charges are laid against an officer it impacts public trust and confidence,” said police chief Stuart Betts in a media release. “We understand that we must earn your trust and confidence through our actions each and every day. This is why we have been as open as possible throughout the investigation of this incident, including informing the community of the incident and investigation as well as consulting with outside agencies and the Crown Attorney’s office prior to the laying of charges.”

Police first became aware of the incident at around 6:40 p.m. on December 31, when the accused officer attended the Peterborough police station to advise they had discharged a personal and legally owned firearm in their home. Shortly after, a neighbouring homeowner called 9-1-1 after returning home to find a bullet hole in their bedroom.

Officers attended the officer’s home to initiate an investigation and to ensure there were no ongoing safety concerns.

During the initial investigation, police learned the officer had discharged a single round from the firearm inside their home, which resulted in the bullet exiting the officer’s home and entering a neighbouring home. No one was at the neighbouring home at the time of the incident, and no one was injured in either home.

Police seized the firearm involved in the incident, and forensic investigators attended both homes to retrieve the bullet, match it to the seized firearm, and confirm the trajectory the bullet took.

Police immediately made arrangements to notify the Chief Firearms Office of the incident, and also contacted the oversees manufacturer of the firearm to coordinate a functional test and examination of the firearm.

Police have not provided any information about whether the officer intentionally or unintentionally discharged the firearm. However, police say the officer had recently purchased the firearm. In accordance with the Firearms Act, other firearms in the home have been lawfully transferred to the possession of another individual who does not residing in the home.

The accused officer has been released on an undertaking, with conditions, and is scheduled to appear in court on February 10. Police say that, under the provisions of the Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA), the officer has been removed from their regular duties and has been reassigned to administrative duties pending the conclusion of the criminal matter.

“We are very much aware that there could have been a devastating outcome as a result of this incident, and we are thankful that no one was physically injured,” Chief Betts said.

Once the criminal matter has been resolved, a professional standards misconduct investigation will take place. Police say that, as the matter is now before the courts, they will be providing no further comment at this time.