McQuaker returns funds to municipality after reprimand and pay suspension by Emo council
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
Mayor Harold McQuaker has been formally reprimanded by Emo's council and will lose 60 days’ pay after the municipality’s integrity commissioner found that he personally accepted thousands of dollars raised for the benefit of the Township and its taxpayers and failed to disclose the gift.
The integrity commissioner’s report, presented to council on August 11, found that McQuaker personally received $5,300.65 from an online crowdfunding campaign established to support the municipality following its loss before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. McQuaker deposited the money into his personal bank account and did not disclose the gift as required by the municipality’s code of conduct.
The interity commissioner recommended that council sanction McQuaker. Draft minutes from council’s August 19 meeting confirm that council did so, formally reprimanding the mayor and suspending his remuneration for 60 days.
McQuaker returns donated money after misconduct report becomes public
The August 19 minutes also reveal that McQuaker finally returned the donor money to the municipality—nearly two years after receiving it in December 2024. He only did so after the integrity commissioner’s findings became public and attracted media scrutiny. McQuaker would have known that his handling of the money was under investigation since at least early 2025, when the integrity commissioner commenced his inquiry.
The August 19 minutes state: “Council acknowledges that a cheque was received of $5,350.65, from Mayor Harold McQuaker. Council has instructed [for] the cheque to be held until the resolution of legal proceedings.” The amount corresponds with the $5,000 in damages the Tribunal ordered McQuaker to pay personally in November 2024, together with subsequent enforcement costs.
The contradiction and double-dipping is striking. Although McQuaker personally received donor money intended to offset the consequences of the Tribunal decision, he subsequently relied on taxpayer-funded lawyers in an effort to obtain a court order requiring the return of the same money pending the Township’s judicial review.
Nearly $35,000 raised—and most of it remains unaccounted for
The $5,300 received by McQuaker is only part of a much larger unanswered question.
The funds were raised through crowdfunding campaigns launched after the November 2024 Tribunal decision finding that the Township and McQuaker discriminated against Borderland Pride by refusing the service of issuing a municipal proclamation in May 2020.
At least five online campaigns ultimately raised nearly $35,000, ostensibly to support the municipality and its taxpayers. Yet the Township has confirmed that it has no record of receiving those crowdfunding proceeds.
On August 12, Borderland Pride asked the Ontario Provincial Police to investigate the whereabouts of the money.
Records obtained by Borderland Pride—including text messages and communications involving New Brunswick resident Michael Keller, who organized one of the online campaigns—appear to indicate that Keller personally retained half of the $20,000 raised through GiveSendGo rather than remitting those funds to the municipality.
Those communications have been provided to police. Media reports indicate that the OPP has confirmed that it is investigating the crowdfunding campaigns and the allegations involving McQuaker.
McQuaker attacks the reporting—but won’t say what is false
Despite now repaying the improperly-received money, McQuaker has repeatedly lied and accused journalists and others reporting on the controversy of dishonesty and false reporting. When pressed by reporters, he has refused to identify what publicly-reported facts are false.
The record is clear. The integrity commissioner found that McQuaker received the money. The commissioner found that he deposited it into his personal account. The commissioner found that he failed to disclose it. Council sanctioned him for that conduct. And council’s own minutes now confirm that McQuaker subsequently returned the money.
Those facts come from public, municipal records.
A pecuniary interest in the missing money?
Notably, at the August 19 council meeting, McQuaker was the only member of council to declare a pecuniary interest and recuse himself when council considered Borderland Pride’s request that the municipality support a police investigation into the missing crowdfunding proceeds.
It is unknown what pecuniary interest McQuaker has in the nearly $30,000 in crowdfunding proceeds that remain unaccounted for. The public and donors deserve an answer.
Taxpayers are still paying
Meanwhile, the litigation that prompted the crowdfunding campaigns continues to consume public resources.
The August 19 special council meeting included closed-session matters that appear to relate to the municipality’s continuing litigation over the Tribunal decision and its efforts to resist disclosure of its legal spending, contrary to municipal freedom of information laws.
On August 14, the Township and McQuaker suffered another defeat when the Tribunal dismissed their request for reconsideration of its November 2024 decision.
That reconsideration proceeding followed an earlier setback in Divisional Court, where a panel of 3 judges declined to hear their judicial review because they had gone to court prematurely without first exhausting the Tribunal’s reconsideration process.
The Township and McQuaker must now decide whether to revive their taxpayer-funded judicial review.
###
Quote:
"This stopped being a story about Pride a long time ago. It is now a story about missing money, public accountability for irresponsible spending, and whether taxpayers can trust the people handling either. The mayor was caught red-handed quietly lining his own pockets and the municipality won't disclose how much taxpayer money it is spending to fight 30 years of established discrimination law in Ontario. Mayor McQuaker can return the cheque, but he can’t refund the public’s trust."
-Douglas W. Judson (Board Director, Borderland Pride)
Related Reading:
Open letter to the Ontario Provincial Police, dated August 9, 2026
Media release: Mayor McQuaker pocketed donor money intended to offset Emo taxpayers’ legal costs, dated August 10, 2026
Open letter to Mayor and Council of the Township of Emo, dated August 12, 2026
Media release: Emo and McQuaker lose again: Tribunal dismisses reconsideration request, dated August 14, 2026
Open letter to the Ontario Provincial Police, dated August 23, 2026
About Borderland Pride:
Borderland Pride is the 2SLGBTQIA+ organization serving Fort Frances and surrounding communities across Northwestern Ontario.
Contact:
Borderland Pride
