Colours Have Been Shown: A Midway Update on NFNM’s Accountability Reporting
Over the past few months, North Frontenac News Media (NFNM) has found itself in the middle of a storm—not because of what we’ve done wrong, but because of what we’ve done right. Investigative reporting has a way of pulling back the curtain, and when that happens, some people get uncomfortable. What started as a simple look into council performance has turned into a revealing display of character in our community.
This isn’t a hit piece. It’s an editorial — an update — from my perspective. Written for my neighbours, friends, and everyone asking, “What’s going on with Donald and these Facebook posts?”
Lately, I’ve had people approach me—some confused, some concerned—asking what’s happening. They’ve seen the posts and rumours flying around. My father has also had people come up to him, wondering what this is all about, simply because we share the same name.
On top of that, there have been private threats, aimed at using our family’s property as leverage, followed by attempts to force distrust within my own family. That’s when it stopped being just online noise and something real that needs to addressed.
So, it’s time to clear the air.
This article will walk you through what’s really going on, why NFNM’s reporting has stirred such a reaction, and why, at the heart of it, this is about more than just me—it’s about the kind of community we want to be, and between the lines, a preface to some very deeply disturbing investigations to be reported on in the future.
What Do I Hope to Accomplish?
First, i would like to bring up an old adage: “Hurt people, hurt people.” I believe that rings true here.
This article isn’t about punishing or alienating anyone. It’s not about retribution. My goal is to encourage our community to recognize where things have gone wrong—not to shame—but to correct. We all have a responsibility, as neighbours, to help each other see right from wrong. That’s not council’s job. It’s not the police’s job. It’s not up to the courts, or the news media. It’s our job—as a community.
That’s why this is an editorial. Because at its heart, this isn’t about politics, It’s about us. If we want North Frontenac to be better, it has to start with how we treat one another. We can be the example that shows other communities how to heal divisions, how to stand up for integrity without tearing each other down. We have the power to change—not by waiting for someone else to fix it—but by being better neighbours, better citizens, and better people.
That’s the future I want to be part of. And I believe we can get there.
How This All Started
I’m an independent investigative journalist. I run NFNM because I believe this community deserves/needs transparency, facts, and accountability. My articles are built on public records, council minutes, and open conversations. I’m not out to attack anyone — but I won’t shy away from asking hard questions.
A few months ago, I wrote an article looking into the Economic Development Task Force (EDTF), specifically its housing subcommittee. Brandon Hartwig was a member of that committee, and Councillor Stephanie Regent was in a leadership role. I asked fair, fact-based questions about what the committee had accomplished and whether personal interests were influencing public decisions.
For simply asking those questions, Brandon Hartwig physically assaulted me in public. His response wasn’t an answer—it was intimidation.
After the assault, I reached out to Councillor Regent, hoping she would step in and help de-escalate the situation, as her oath to office dictates. At first, she seemed willing. “I’ll phone him and talk to him, he listens to me,” she said.
But that tone shifted almost immediately. Within minutes of making the call, she followed up with, “I can’t get involved in this.” The opportunity for leadership was there — and it was passed over in a matter of minutes.
The investigation didn’t stop there, it evolved. The more I looked into the EDTF, Brandon, Stephanie, and Rob, the more questions began to surface. If one is going to be the loudest in the room, they would need to expect to invite the curious mind of a journalist.
The Smear Campaign in “What’s Happenin’ Plevna”
The audit of Councillor Stephanie Regent’s public record wasn’t personal. Before that, I had already criticized Mayor Gerry Lichty, the Township’s CAO, and every councillor who voted to restrict free speech in Canada. I reported on procedural overhauls, zoning inconsistencies, and council’s failure to respond to public concerns. The reporting didn’t pick sides—it followed the facts.
But over time, Councillor Regent’s own conduct demanded closer scrutiny. Her emotional outbursts during council meetings, public displays of frustration, and decisions to resign from key committee appointments stood out. Any investigative journalist would focus on that. It’s not personal — it’s part of the job.
So, I did my job. I published a factual audit of Regent’s public record, based entirely on council minutes, attendance logs, and her own statements. All public information.
Instead of addressing the facts, the same small group chose to attack the messenger.
Following that article, the “What’s Happenin’ Plevna” Facebook group, run by Brandon Hartwig and Tiffiny Tryon-Lesperance, launched into a full-blown smear campaign. Brandon publicly accused me of “hating women” and “hating native Indian people”—a defamatory and racially insensitive attack that even pains me to write as-is. (The correct term is Indigenous people.) Ms Tyrone-Lesperance added to the chaos with a very long comment attacking my character, personality, mental health, gaslighting me, then calling my journalism “gossip”, followed with more petty personal insults.
Most importantly. Councillor Regent herself and her husband reacted to these defamatory attacks with heart emojis and thumbs up’s — silently endorsing the smear campaign instead of stepping in as a leader.
But the attacks didn’t stop online. Rob Lesperance privately messaged me, using my father’s property as a pressure point, attempting to intimidate me into silence. At the same time, Brandon tried to drive a wedge between my father and I — sending personal attacks designed to make my own family doubt me, hoping that would be enough to force me to back down.
When tribal politics take over, facts no longer matter. Allegiances do.
Colours Have Been Shown
Through all of this, I tried to de-escalate.
As the smear campaign ramped up, I reached out directly to Councillor Regent — someone I had spoken with regularly, often a few times a week. I sent her a message saying I felt unsafe, that things had gone too far, and asked if we could bring the temperature down.
Her reply? “Stop harassing me.” Then she blocked me.
Up until that point, she had never once asked me to stop communicating. There was no conversation. No attempt to understand. Just a wall.
When a sitting councillor chooses to side with personal attacks instead of de-escalating them, when they endorse defamatory comments rather than uphold respectful discourse, they’re not just failing a constituent, they are violating the trust placed in them by every resident.
Councillor Regent took an oath to serve and protect this community. That includes standing up for the democratic principles we all rely on — transparency, accountability, and the fundamental right to free expression. When she chose silence in the face of threats, and approval in the face of defamation, she wasn’t just turning her back on me. She was turning her back on her own oath of office. And by doing so, she disrespected the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that guarantees every Canadian’s right to speak, question, and hold power to account.
This investigation was never about character attacks. It was about showing colours.
And they’ve been shown — brightly, unmistakably, for all to see.
We owe it to this community to expect better.
Moving Forward: The Truth Doesn’t Need Censorship
People have asked me if this is just a personal fight. It’s not. This has always been about holding public officials accountable and making sure this community and province and country are not hijacked by tribal alliances.
From the beginning, I’ve been open about my work. Every article I’ve written is backed by public records. I’ve asked for responses, offered opportunities for correction, and kept the door open for dialogue. The smear campaign isn’t about the facts I’ve presented. It’s about certain people not liking that those facts are being presented at all.
The community deserves better than whispers and online bullying. It deserves transparency. your neighbours deserve better. Plevna deserves better. North Frontenac deserves better. Ontario deserves better. Canada deserves better
The investigation is far from over. NFNM’s work continues, not out of spite, but out of principle. Public accountability doesn’t stop at council chambers. It’s just as important in the conversations we have with each other, in how we respond to criticism, and in whether we choose to lead or hide when the spotlight turns on us.
The colours have been shown. Now, the rest is up to us.
— Donald Morton Jr NFNM
