Category: North Huron

(Wingham, North Huron) — The Ontario Provincial Police have confirmed their deployment of plain-clothes officers to the December 15, 2025 North Huron council meeting, where officers interfered with citizens attempting to ask questions prior to the meeting. Video of the incident has spread nationwide, attracting the attention of free-speech advocates, civil liberty monitors, and “The Chairman.”

Community organizers say that January 12 will not be a repeat of December 15.

“Any individual — including OPP-PLT members — who unlawfully interferes with peaceful and lawful public assembly, press freedoms, or attempts to unlawfully detain, threaten, or obstruct citizens may be subject to a citizen’s arrest under Section 494 of the Criminal Code of Canada,” the statement reads. “If a criminal offence is being committed in front of witnesses, the law allows citizens to detain the offender until uniformed police arrive.”

Organizers emphasize this is not a threat — it is a legal right.
Criminal Code Section 494(1) allows a citizen to arrest someone they “find committing an indictable offence,” and Section 25 requires that any such action be reasonable and lawful.
The goal, organizers say, is not confrontation — it is accountability and protection of democratic rights.

For residents, the moments before council meetings, when questions may be asked, represent one of the last meaningful opportunities for public democratic engagement. On Dec. 15, the OPP attempted to extinguish that spark. Instead, citizens and the press stood together, raised their cameras, and defended their rights.

On Jan. 12 at 5:30 p.m., they say they will return — peacefully, lawfully, and unwaveringly.

Wingham has faced its share of storms, but this one isn’t made of smoke and flame. It’s a slow-burning crisis of selective enforcement, broken trust, and pedestrian safety that has smoldered for nearly twenty years. Today, that fire finally met its match.

Fire Chief Chad Kregar has stepped forward.

Quietly at first. Then clearly. And now decisively.

Those who know Chad know this already: he’s an excellent human being. A servant-leader. A man who believes public safety means all the public, not just the convenient parts. Over the past weeks, Chad has drawn a firm line—standing up to Public Works, standing up for pedestrians, and standing with the people of Wingham.

“This isn’t about power,” Chad told the Free Press. “It’s about people. Everyone in our community should be treated equally.”

That sentence alone marks a turning point.

For years, residents have raised alarms about sidewalks treated as snow dumps, about safety infrastructure ignored, about rules enforced on citizens but not on the municipality itself. That long battle has exhausted people. It has injured people. It has divided people.

And now—finally—someone in authority has chosen to end it.

“We’re Canadians,” Chad said. “We hold doors open for strangers. We look out for each other. We don’t dump snow on our sidewalks and call it normal.”

With that, Chad made his choice: people over power.

A Community Reconnected

Under Chad’s direction, pedestrian safety infrastructure will be maintained—consistently and without exceptions. Sidewalks are being recognized for what they are: safety infrastructure, not storage space. Children, seniors, workers, and visitors all deserve the same protection.

This decision doesn’t just clear paths; it clears the air.

The nearly 20-year standoff between the Free Press and North Huron/Wingham Town Hall ends here—not with shouting, but with leadership. Not with force, but with fairness. Wingham can finally move forward, connected and protected, as a community should be.

Call to Action: Volunteers Needed

But even heroes need help.

To make this work immediately, volunteers are urgently needed to assist with operating trackless sidewalk machines and supporting safe pedestrian access.

When: On or before January 12 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Wingham — ahead of the next council meeting

This is also the moment when the public will peacefully re-assert democracy—showing up, asking questions, and standing firm despite past intimidation. Cameras up. Voices calm. Resolve unshaken.

Chad’s message to the community is simple and powerful:
“You matter. Your life has value. Your safety is worth the effort.”

A Gentle Reminder From Your Fire Chief

While you’re stepping up for your neighbors, take a moment to protect your home:

• Make sure smoke detectors are working
• Ensure smoke and CO₂ detectors are installed on every floor
• Check batteries regularly—especially in winter

Public safety doesn’t end at the sidewalk. It starts at your front door.

The Fire We’re Putting Out

This is the biggest fire Wingham has faced—not because of its size, but because of its impact on trust and safety. And for the first time in a long time, there is real hope.

Chad Kregar didn’t defect from his duty.
He fulfilled it.

History remembers moments like this—not for who held power, but for who chose people.

Wingham, this is your moment. Step forward. You’re worth it.

(Wingham, North Huron) — At some point, negligence stops being ignorance and becomes a choice.

That moment has arrived for North Huron Fire Chief, Chief By-law Enforcement Officer, and Public Safety Officer Chad Kregar.

Last week, Kregar was directly informed—face to face—of active pedestrian hazards created by snow and ice left on municipal sidewalks, including routes used by seniors, children, and people with mobility issues. The condition of those sidewalks is no longer hypothetical, disputed, or unknown. It is now documented, observed, and acknowledged.

That matters—because in Canadian law, once a public authority is aware of a hazard, the standard of care changes.

Notice Changes Everything

Courts across Canada have been clear: municipalities and their officers have a positive duty to maintain public infrastructure in a reasonably safe condition. Sidewalks are not decorative. They are safety infrastructure.

The Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly held that:

• Municipalities cannot create hazards on pedestrian routes and then disclaim responsibility.
• Delegating or ignoring maintenance duties does not eliminate liability.
• Once a risk is known, failure to act becomes negligence, not policy.

The Ontario Ombudsman has echoed this principle: public safety officials are expected to intervene when preventable hazards are brought to their attention, regardless of internal politics or convenience.

As of now, North Huron has notice.
And so does Chad Kregar personally, in his capacity as Fire Chief, Chief By-law Enforcement Officer and Public Safety Officer.

By-law Enforcement Is Not Optional

A recurring claim from Town Hall is that municipal by-laws “don’t apply” to the municipality itself. That position is legally fragile—and dangerous.

Clean yards, property standards, and safety by-laws exist to eliminate hazards, not to protect the entity that created them. If a by-law officer can order a private resident to clear a sidewalk within 72 hours—or face enforcement—then refusing to apply the same safety standard to municipal property raises serious questions of unequal enforcement and bad faith.

Public safety officers are not hired to look the other way when the Township is the source of the danger.

What Refusal to Act Risks

If hazardous sidewalks remain after notice, the consequences are no longer abstract:

• Civil liability for injuries caused by known hazards
• Personal exposure for officials who knowingly decline to mitigate risk
• Insurance complications if claims arise after documented warnings
• Ombudsman scrutiny for systemic failure to enforce safety standards
• Coroner’s inquests if a serious injury or death occurs
• Public loss of confidence in emergency and safety leadership

No Fire Chief wants to explain—after the fact—why a known, preventable hazard was left in place.

This Is the Moment to Choose

Chad Kregar now stands at a clear fork in the road.

One path is simple:
He has acknowledged the hazard. He must order it corrected. Ensure municipal crews stop using sidewalks as snow storage. Treat public safety as non-negotiable.

The other path leads to court appearances, public shaming, paperwork, and humilation—until someone falls, gets hurt, or worse.

Public safety officers are entrusted with authority because lives depend on it. That trust is not symbolic. It carries responsibility, accountability, and—when warnings are ignored—consequences.

The public has done its part.
The hazard has been identified.
The warning has been given.

What happens next is no longer an accident, it’s all on Chad Kregar.

(Wingham, North Huron) — A disturbance occurred during last night’s North Huron council meeting involving two individuals who claimed to be members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

The individuals were dressed in plain clothes and declined to produce police identification, photo ID, or business cards when requested, stating that they did not have them available. Their presence and actions disrupted ongoing discussions related to public safety and infrastructure maintenance, raising concerns among attendees. Observers noted that, based on the individuals’ dress, conduct, demeanour, and refusal to provide identification, there was no reasonable basis to believe they were legitimate OPP officers.

Residents of Huron and Perth counties are reminded to check and lock all doors, and exercise caution if approached by individuals claiming to be police officers who do not immediately identify themselves.

If there is uncertainty about an officer’s identity, members of the public are advised to contact 911 to verify the interaction. Individuals have the right to request proper identification from anyone asserting law-enforcement authority.