Ottawa·NewChief among the concerns raised around the council table was how clamping wheels on out-of-province vehicles could hurt local tourism, as well as questions about how the initiative would be managed.Gananoque’s mayor had suggested clamping wheels until parking tickets are paidDan Taekema · CBC News · Posted: Sep 24, 2025 12:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 25 minutes agoCouncillors in Gananoque, Ont., have voted to scrap a suggestion from the town’s mayor to clamp the wheels of vehicles from Quebec until their owners pay parking fines. (Dan Taekema/CBC)Town councillors in Gananoque, Ont., have unanimously voted to scrap a controversial proposal to clamp the wheels of vehicles from Quebec until their owners pay parking fines.Mayor John Beddows, who made the suggestion in the first place, was among those who voted to remove it from a directive he issued to guide staff as they prepare the town’s budget.”Have I heard that people don’t like the policy? Absolutely,” he said during a meeting on Sept. 16. “Am I willing to change my mind based on public opinion? Yes, I am.”The mayor suggested amending the town’s parking bylaw to permit “clamping tires of Quebec-plated vehicles on issuance of a parking ticket,” as well as creating a new class of ticket that includes the cost of locking and unlocking the wheels.In outlining his reasoning for the recommendation, Beddows noted Ontario and Quebec have no reciprocal agreement when it comes to parking tickets.That means while an Ontarian who fails to pay local fines can’t renew their licence, a Quebec driver who gets ticketed in Gananoque or any other Ontario town “suffers no consequences if they don’t pay,” he said in a previous interview with CBC.A ‘little lady’ with a wagon full of clamps?Chief among the concerns raised around the council table last week was how clamping wheels on out-of-province vehicles could hurt local tourism, as well as questions about how the initiative would be managed.Deputy Mayor Vicki Leaky said she envisioned a scenario where a family from Quebec comes to town for dinner, only to find their wheel clamped when they return to their vehicle. Leaky asked what that family is supposed to do next, and how they’re supposed to get the clamp removed so they can get home.”So what happens? Does the little lady doing the tickets, is she running with a wagon with the clamps?” Leaky asked.Beddows said his intent was to give bylaw officers a tool to enforce the town’s parking rules, rather than force a particular outcome.”The challenge is … there’s no tool available to municipal bylaw enforcement between the ticket and towing,” he said.’Have I heard that people don’t like the policy? Absolutely,’ said Mayor John Beddows, who ended up voting against his own recommendation. (Dan Taekema/CBC)Coun. Colin Brown said he works in the tourism industry and felt the clamping proposal had done “far more damage than good.””We need to come united as council and do damage control on that,” he said. “It’s going to get out of our hands and get uncontrollable faster than we know it.”Town getting used to strong mayor powersBeddows’s directive was brought under new strong mayor powers, which were expanded to Gananoque in May and require the head of council to prepare the town’s budget.Coun. Anne-Marie Koiner told her colleagues council is still learning to “navigate” those powers, and said she believes the situation could have been avoided if councillors had been offered a chance to weigh in before the mayor’s directive was issued.Cyclists pass a parking meter in Gananoque. A suggestion by the town’s mayor to clamp the wheels of out-of-province vehicles until their owners pay parking fines stirred a backlash. (Dan Taekema/CBC)Beddows offered to remove the proposal from his directive after the meeting, but Leaky asked for that to happen immediately.”I just wanted to get that one out, so it can be out there: We’re not clamping. Come,” she said.The mayor seconded Leaky’s motion against his own proposal, and councillors voted to get rid of it. Discussions about the rest of the directive and budget are ongoing.ABOUT THE AUTHORDan Taekema is CBC’s reporter covering Kingston, Ont. and the surrounding area. He’s worked in newsrooms in Chatham, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa. You can reach him by emailing daniel.taekema@cbc.ca.Follow @DanTaekema on Twitter
‘We’re not clamping. Come’: Ontario town slams brakes on proposal to lock wheels of Quebec cars
