Mayor of Brockville, Ont. violated code of conduct by referring to public as ‘wackadoodles,’ report concludes

A dispute over the local Santa Claus parade has landed Brockville’s mayor in hot water. CTV’s Tyler Fleming reports.

The mayor of Brockville, Ont. violated the council code of conduct by referring to members of the public as “wackadoodles” and for calling the workplace of the wife of the former organizer of the Brockville Santa Claus Parade, the integrity commissioner concluded.

Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to accept the recommendation from Integrity Commissioner Ellen Fry to reprimand Mayor Matt Wren for violating the code of conduct for the phone call to the workplace in August 2025. The integrity commissioner did not recommend any penalty for the mayor for using the term “wackadoodle,” saying Wren expressed regret.

Former Brockville Santa Claus Parade organizer Bill McKinnon filed a written complaint to the integrity commissioner on Sept. 1, with eight allegations against Wren for violating the Code of Conduct in connection with the “decisions concerning this year’s Santa Claus Parade.”

McKinnon and his wife organized the 2024 Santa Claus Parade, but this year’s parade will be organized in-house by the City of Brockville and Brockville Tourism.

According to the report, the integrity commissioner found four of the eight allegations did not indicate non-compliance with the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.

The four allegations investigated were:

1. Mayor Wren allegedly improperly influenced city staff to prevent the participation of McKinnon’s organization in the parade.
2. “Mayor Wren allegedly treated members of the public improperly in a call on August 29, 2025, to Gina Rose Cristello of Solid Rock Realty and by referring to the ‘wackadoodles from Facebook’ in a call with Mr. McKinnon on August 25, 2025,” the commissioner’ said
3. “Mayor Wren allegedly did not perform his responsibilities with impartiality and objectivity and in a way that did not create any appearance of possible bias, by improperly benefitting the Rotary Club and the role of his brother-in-law Dave Paul in the Rotary Club,” the report said.
4. Mayor Wren allegedly made false statements about the Santa Claus Parade.

Fry’s investigation found Wren did not play a part in the decision for the City of Brockville and Brockville Tourism to manage the 2025 parade in-house and did not violate the Code of Conduct as alleged in the first complaint, and did not investigate the allegation in the third complaint. The report found on the fourth allegation, Wren made comments about the Santa Claus Parade fees “he believed to be true” and did not violate the code.

The integrity commissioner concluded Wren violated the code of conduct by referring to the public as “wackadoodles” and for calling the workplace of McKinnon’s wife.

Fry said Wren called the real estate firm where McKinnon’s wife works on Aug. 29. The mayor told the integrity commissioner “he made this call because he wanted to put a stop to social media posts by Mr. McKinnon’s wife that he viewed as reputationally damaging and containing misinformation.” The integrity commissioner said the posts on Aug. 28 included the statement “the issue, as you state, that this is a matter of a standard $250 road closure fee, is reductive and condescending.”

Fry said Wren did not speak to McKinnon’s wife when he called the real estate firm, instead raising the issue with a colleague who answered the phone.

“When asked by me why he didn’t ask to speak with Mr. McKinnon’s wife, given the fact that she was the person he had the issue with, he did not offer an explanation,” Fry said. “The fact that Mayor Wren spoke to the colleague of Mr. McKinnon’s wife rather than speaking to Mr. McKinnon’s wife directly would reasonably be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate Mr. McKinnon’s wife by applying pressure at her place of work. Accordingly, I consider that this behaviour violated section 7.0 of the Code of Conduct.”

Fry said during a conversation with McKinnon on Aug. 25, the mayor expressed concern that “Mr. McKinnon’s social media posting would lead to him and City staff having to deal with the ‘wackadoodles from Facebook.’”

“‘Wackadoodles’ is generally understood to be a derogatory term and given the fact that the conversation between Mayor Wren and Mr. McKinnon concerned City business, this was not a situation where the term was used in a private conversation,” Fry said, adding, using the term violated the code of conduct to treat members of the public with respect.

“I note that Mayor Wren has expressed regret that he did not phrase his concern about social media postings in a way that was not derogatory.”

Fry determined Wren violated section 7.0 of the code of conduct by “trying to intimidate McKinnon’s wife by applying pressure at her place of work,” and “by failing to treat members of public with respect by referring to them using the term ‘wackadoodle.’”

Fry did not recommend any penalty for Wren for his use of the term “wackadoodle,” but recommended the reprimand for calling the workplace of McKinnon’s wife.

McKinnon’s wife, Kate McKinnon, told CTV News Ottawa she went to Tuesday’s council meeting.

“Having a mayor who feels like he can make those calls and influence people that way is completely inappropriate,” McKinnon said.

“A part of their argument was that he was regretful that he apologized. I’ve never received an apology, neither has my boss. This isn’t me looking for any kind of glory or anything. I’m honestly standing up for what I feel is right and I just don’t want to be bullied.”

Wren issued a statement on Wednesday.

“I accept the Integrity Commissioner’s report and am pleased that, as anticipated, it confirms I did not misuse my office to influence staff decisions. I have deep respect for the role of City staff and consistently refrain from interfering in matters that are theirs to decide,” Wren said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“The report clearly finds that the complainant leveled accusations that are unfounded and without merit. The Commissioner also addressed my response to deeply offensive comments directed towards me. I acknowledge that my reaction represented a moment of poor judgement. I regret this and accept the criticism. While navigating opposing views is part of public service, the rise in personal attacks and harassment makes it increasingly difficult to maintain composure in every moment.”