Why Smiths Falls Needs New Administrative Leadership
A Documentary Review of Environmental Oversight & Accountability
READ THE FULL REPORT AND SUPPORTING EVIDENCEI have published a detailed report examining how the Town of Smiths Falls handled environmental test results showing serious contamination.
The central finding is simple:
Clean test results went into the normal Town system. But when testing showed serious contamination, the results were diverted into a separate legal channel that kept Town staff and the public from accessing them.
In December 2024, soil testing found serious contamination, including lead and petroleum hydrocarbons at more than twice the applicable groundwater standard. Instead of going to the Town staff who would normally receive environmental test results, the report went directly from the laboratory to the Town Solicitor and was treated as solicitor-client privileged.
Later testing that found no exceedances followed the normal process. Those results went directly to Public Works and were released through Freedom of Information.
The full report includes the supporting records so residents can review the evidence directly and reach their own conclusions.
What the Records Show
The December 2024 soil testing found ten exceedances, including lead, petroleum hydrocarbons and several PAHs.
The report showing contamination went directly to the Town Solicitor and was treated as solicitor-client privileged.
The Director of Public Works later confirmed that he did not have access to it.
The Town had also committed in writing to provide the soil-testing results to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. According to the Ministry, it did not receive the report for more than five months.
When the Health Unit later asked the CAO about testing in the area, it was given the later surface-water results showing no exceedances, but not the earlier report showing contamination.
The contamination report was also withheld from the public through Freedom of Information.
But the most serious issue is the system itself.
The Town had a separate route that allowed test results showing serious contamination to bypass the normal municipal process and become hidden behind legal privilege.
We know this report exists only because Ministry records showed that additional testing had been ordered. Without that outside paper trail, there would have been no clear public indication that the contamination report existed at all.
There is no way to know from the Town's records alone how many other records, if any, may have been handled through the same process.
Why I Am Calling for New Administrative Leadership
The report does not claim that the CAO personally made every decision described in it.
The larger issue is responsibility for the system.
The CAO is the Town's most senior administrative official and is ultimately responsible for how information moves through the organization, whether senior staff have the information they need, and whether important environmental and public-health concerns are handled openly and responsibly.
The Director of Public Works is already one of the Town's most senior officials. A system that keeps a significant contamination report from him cannot operate without senior authority.
In my view, the fact that such a system was created or permitted to operate at all is a fundamental violation of public trust.
If this is how the Town handles records showing serious contamination, I do not believe the same administrative leadership can continue to be trusted to oversee our water system.
That is why I am calling for new administrative leadership and stronger safeguards around environmental reporting, information sharing, legal privilege, disclosure to regulators and public transparency.
The CAO has been provided with the report and invited to correct any factual errors, provide additional context and respond to the evidence.
Mayor Shawn Pankow and both of the other candidates for Mayor have also been provided with the report and invited to review the same evidence and state their position.
Residents can read the report, review the supporting records and reach their own conclusions.
A Broader Drinking-Water Issue
The concerns documented in this report are separate from, but exist alongside, a longer-running issue involving lead in Smiths Falls drinking water.
Drinking-water safety is not as simple as declaring the water either completely safe or completely unsafe.
My approach is straightforward: Town Hall should give residents the clearest available public-health guidance, be honest about what we know and what we do not know, and take reasonable precautions when there may be a risk.
Discoloured Water and Public-Health Guidance
The Town's current practice has been to tell residents that discoloured water remains safe to use during flushing and other work on the water system.
I believe that needs to change.
Health Canada's guidance states:
“Discoloured water should not be considered safe to consume or treated as only an aesthetic issue.”
Health Canada explains that discolouration events can release accumulated contaminants, including lead.
That does not mean every case of discoloured water contains dangerous levels of lead. It also does not mean the entire Smiths Falls water supply is unsafe.
It means there can be a risk, and residents should be given clear information about simple precautions they can take.
When work on the water system causes discoloured water, residents should be advised not to drink it or use it for cooking until it has cleared and the appropriate precautions have been followed.
The current practice of telling residents that discoloured water is safe to use does not reflect Health Canada's guidance.
If elected Mayor, I will push for our drinking-water communications and operating procedures to follow that guidance and the best practices used by other municipalities.
Smiths Falls' History of Lead Exceedances
Concerns about lead in Smiths Falls drinking water are not new.
Lead service lines remain in parts of the community, and elevated lead results at residential taps have been documented over many years.
This history is one reason clear public-health communication, continued monitoring and reasonable precautions are so important.
In June, the current Mayor publicly declared that the Smiths Falls water supply was “100% safe.” In the same post, he dismissed my concerns about lead service lines as “nonsense” and characterized allegations about water safety as “baseless.”
Lead service lines are not a baseless allegation.
The Town has acknowledged that they remain in parts of Smiths Falls, and elevated lead results at residential taps are well documented in our monitoring history.
2009 University of Toronto Study
In 2009, Tony P. Tsui completed a University of Toronto Master of Applied Science thesis in Civil Engineering titled Analysis of Lead Monitoring Data in Drinking Water.
The thesis included a dedicated Smiths Falls case study and reported:
“Smiths Falls had the highest number of lead exceedances with 8 of 20 lead measurements exceeding 10 µg/L.”
The study is now 17 years old, but it shows that lead has been an issue in Smiths Falls for a long time. More recent testing shows that the concern has not disappeared.
Canadian Environmental Law Association Review
In 2022, the Canadian Environmental Law Association reviewed Ontario lead-monitoring data and again highlighted Smiths Falls.
CELA reported that 15.4% of Smiths Falls samples exceeded 10 µg/L in 2019–2020, and 13% exceeded that level in 2020–2021.
CELA described those exceedance rates as remaining high.
My Approach to Drinking-Water Oversight
The best way to build trust is to give people clear information, be honest about what we know and what we do not know, and take reasonable precautions when there may be a risk.
Residents deserve to know what testing shows, what questions remain, what risks have been identified and what practical steps they can take to protect themselves.
When there is a legitimate concern, Town Hall should explain it clearly rather than relying on broad assurances.
If elected Mayor, that is the approach I will bring to drinking-water oversight and public communication in Smiths Falls.