By Donald Morton, EiC, OSINT Officer ยท NFNM - North Frontenac News Media
Sue MacGregor, president of the Kashwakamak Lake Association, banned NFNM from the association's Facebook page today for posting an article that mentions the association. Before she did, Sue MacGregor called the article "an outright misrepresentation of the KLA" and told me to "get your facts straight if you want to be considered a 'journalist'."
The article said two lake associations "acted less like owners' associations and more like protest groups" over the battery storage proposal last fall, and it said this: "Kashwakamak owners told council that the Kashwakamak Lake Association had submitted a letter detailing 'at length, the potential damage.'"
To prove me wrong, Sue MacGregor posted the KLA's member email of September 23, 2025. Sue MacGregor wrote it herself; "I held the pen," she said. It tells members the battery project was raised at the association's AGM "as a matter of concern," gives them background to read, and says: "The proposed template can be forwarded to Council, or you can write your own letter." It asks members to copy Sue MacGregor on whatever they send, "so we can be aware of how our members feel on this matter," and lists the mayor and councillors to send it to.
A template. Written by Sue MacGregor, sent to the membership, to be forwarded to council. Here is what council received.
Susan Martin, October 17, page 74 of the October 24 special meeting agenda, with Sue MacGregor copied on it: "Fortunately, our lake association has notified us of several of the issues." Then five numbered headings: "Dangerously Close to Two Critical Lakes in the Mississippi Watershed." "Well Water/Drinking Water Is at Risk - With No Municipal Backup." "Toxic Fire Risk with No Way to Contain It." "Electra Benefits BUT the Township Bears Risks - Decommissioning and Clean-Up Could Cost $30-50+ Million Creating Long Term and Untenable Liability Risks for the Township." "Long-Term Harm to Infrastructure, Nature, and Community."
Victoria Grindrod, October 24, page 41 of the October 31 agenda: the same five headings, in the same order, down to the same misspelling of the company's name as "Electra."
Lori Williams, October 9, page 46 of the October 24 agenda: "This 140 MW, 20-acre lithium-ion battery facility would sit just 1,500 feet from Kashwakamak Lake and 2,000 feet from Mississagagon Lake." "Decommissioning and cleanup could cost $30-50+ million." The petition council received on October 27 carries the same five points, the same 140 MW, the same 1,500 and 2,000 feet.
"140 MW" appears on seven pages of the October 24 package, in four residents' letters. Sue MacGregor's template did its job.
And the owners who told council Sue MacGregor's association had sent its own letter:
Deborah and Andrew Webb and Stephanie and Carlos Lopez, October 20, page 23 of the October 31 agenda: "The Kashwakamak Lake Association has submitted a letter detailing, at length, the potential damage that could ensue to the township and its environment and we fully support its position."
Sherry Mills, Brown's Bay, October 8, page 26 of the October 24 agenda: "Letters written and submitted by both the Kashwakamak Lake Association and Carl D. Fleiler, P. Eng, offer very good insights into the risks to the environment and human health, as well as the liabilities to the municipality."
David Hertendy, Browns Bay, October 7, page 25 of the same agenda: "I have the same concerns as letters put forward by Carl Flieler P.Eng. and the Kashwakamak Lake Association."
So the record is: Sue MacGregor wrote a template, sent it to the membership with the mayor's and councillors' addresses, asked to be copied on the results, and the results came back to council under at least four names and a petition, some of them word for word. Three owners told council the association had sent its own letter as well. That is a campaign. Sue MacGregor's position is that an association that does this is not taking a protest stance, and that saying so is a misrepresentation.
My facts were straight. They are council's facts, printed under the names of the people who wrote them. The one thing I cannot find in either agenda package is the association's own letter. If the KLA never sent council a letter, Sue MacGregor can say so and I will print that. If it did, she can post it. The agenda is public. Sue MacGregor's page is not.
To the executive of the North Frontenac Lake Association Alliance:
Your alliance asked every candidate for council how they would give you "a platform for our voice." You asked to be in the room before by-laws are written. One of your member presidents, Sue MacGregor, has now used her association's platform to call accurate reporting a misrepresentation, to tell a journalist what he must do to be "considered" one, and to remove the press from the association's page for posting an article about the association. All of it in public, all of it in writing, all of it contradicted by council's own agendas.
An alliance that wants a seat at the public's table does not get to decide what the public may read. I am asking the NFLAA to call for Sue MacGregor's resignation as president of the Kashwakamak Lake Association, and to say in public whether removing the press from a member association's page is conduct the alliance stands behind. If it is, say so, and voters can weigh your request for early conversations with council against it. If it is not, act.
This page is open to Sue MacGregor's reply, in full, unedited.