Long-standing feud in Midland turns political
A long-standing feud between former members of the Midland Police Service and the town's police service's board has resurfaced less than three weeks before the municipal election.
The feud involves former Midland Police union leader Bill Gordon, who now has his sights set on becoming mayor.
"There's no other way to see it other than a smear campaign," Gordon said.
"I felt that I'm clearly being targeted," he added. "It's been a multiyear vendetta at my own expense, and now just as we thought everything was over, they've resurrected these things in the last two weeks of the election, and that's a head-scratcher I think anybody can see through."
The mayoral hopeful is referring to a press release issued by the police services board through the Town of Midland accusing Gordon of spreading false and misleading information.
In 2019, when the Midland Police Service disbanded to transition to the OPP, town officials claimed Gordon and former police chief Michael Osborne destroyed encrypted police hard drives.
"There seemed to be a high level of anxiety to get that stuff destroyed," said George Dixon, Midland Police Services board chair.
However, the OPP has said it received all the necessary records, and no charges were laid.
Regardless, Dixon remains convinced Gordon and Osborne did not follow the town's direction when Gordon disposed of old hard drives.
"Neither Mr. Gordon nor Mr. Osborne owned those hard drives they took to get destroyed," Dixon said.
Still, Dixon has no proof anything was lost or destroyed from the confidential collection of Midland police data.
Paul Hamelin is a former Midland police chief and police data security expert and spent decades preserving and protecting confidential operational police information.
"Disclosing personal information that relates to law enforcement is clearly within the purview of the chief of police. Section 41 of the Police Services Act stipulates that the chief will be the one deciding what will be released," he said, adding the town had no business having those documents.
"Go to any serving police service, any serving police chief in the province of Ontario, that would include the commissioner of the OPP, [and] ask them a simple question, 'If you were asked by your municipal council to have unfettered access to your police operational data would you give it to them?' And I'm sure the answer would be no," Hamelin concluded.
On Thursday, the OPP confirmed to CTV News it found no grounds to lay criminal charges in the matter.
CTV News reached out to Mayor Stewart Strathern and was told he was unavailable for comment.
Gordon is on the ballot for mayor against incumbent Strathern, Jonathan Main, and Ute Schmid-Jones. The municipal election is on Oct. 24.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Statistics Canada reports real GDP up 0.6% in January as Quebec strikes end
Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product grew 0.6 per cent in January, helped by the end of public sector strikes in Quebec in November and December.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Ukrainian child asylum seekers in St. John’s get class of their own
Roughly 50 children will gathered in a St. John’s classroom for the first time on Saturday for unique lessons on Ukrainian language, culture and history.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.