In the fluorescent bowels of town hall one snowy afternoon a few weeks ago, I read a forbidden report. My presence was physically monitored. It had taken weeks to get in there. Outside of some staffers, it seems, I was the only one to see it.

In a now-infamous column I told you about the guts of the document, which politicians have yet to read. Maybe they never will (“Hey NOTL, hope you like trucks,” Jan. 22, The Lake Report).

The “construction mitigation” report lays out the mayhem, disruption and impact the Shaw’s mega-build will have on our Old Town epicentre. Between now and 2029, expect a war zone, the report suggests.

Several thousand trucks will visit. Every one will travel residential streets. For at least seven months of digging, there will be a dump truck trip every nine minutes.

Tourists will be forced to walk on the road. Victoria Street will be a no-go. Adjacent businesses will surely be impacted. If you think summers are busy now, just wait.

And when it’s all over, the downtown of NOTL will be forever altered. Less heritage. More mass. Less history. More Mississauga. A giant, tarted-up industrial complex plunked in our midst.

But this is not to rag on the Royal George fiasco. Can’t change that now.

It’s about transparency. Honesty. And the stuff that has driven a wedge between local officials and us locals.

“This is a turning point for us,” says veteran councillor and former mayor Gary Burroughs, “and we’re not coming out of it well.”

Mea culpa. I accept my role.

My Lake Report column named staffers I had to cycle through to reach the Shaw’s secret doc. And it referenced the town’s PR lady, Marah Minor, who finally confirmed the town knew everything about the Shaw’s messy building plans — but wouldn’t share online.

As the local government’s info gatekeeper, I called her “the Karoline Leavitt of NOTL.”

OMG. The SHTF.

The guy in charge of NOTL’s government, Nick Ruller, was lit. On his own volition he wrote a memo stating, “Moving forward, town staff will no longer respond to information requests made in support of opinion, advocacy, or commentary pieces.”

He singled out this newspaper, alleging it (which meant Garth) had engaged in “personal criticism and appears to be motivated with social shaming rather than journalism.”

War broke out. Mr. Editor choked on his luncheon martini and wrote a fiery 14,000-word rebuttal, printed last week. Ruller dug in. Public servants were cut off from the public media, which toils to inform the public. Sure, print our press release. No, don’t comment.

I wondered what the people we elect think about this. So I asked them all.

The lord mayor responded by attacking the media as a failed business model. “Opinion articles are increasingly replacing articles by journalists,” he added, which is unsupported by fact.

“I support the CAO’s decision,” said Adriana Vizzari. “Staff deserve a respectful workplace, and transparency remains fully intact.”

Ditto for Andrew Niven: “I support the CAO’s efforts to ensure staff interactions with the media remain professional and respectful, protecting municipal employees from undue personal criticism,” he said.

Wendy Cheropita echoed that, adding the town, “continues to provide appropriate mechanisms for access to municipal information.”

But others, like Burroughs, are troubled now. “This was not a smart move,” he said. “It was improper and incorrect. I feel badly because people like you are trying to make things better.”

Maria Mavridis bristled at my reference to Minor, while adding: “I want to reiterate my appreciation for your professionalism when reaching out to me directly. You have always provided fair timelines for responses and have used my words accurately and in context.”

Sandra O’Connor told me she wants “to de-escalate” things ASAP. She, too, was stung by the Leavitt quip, but says the Shaw report should have been made public and will be working for more transparency.

Deputy mayor Erwin Wiens backs Ruller, claiming opinion commentary (which you’re reading now) and reporting have “different levels of editorial oversight.” In other words, I’m not to be trusted (probably a wise conclusion).

So, citizens, there ya go. We’ll know what they tell us. Just don’t think about it.

Garth Turner is a NOTL resident, journalist, author, wealth manager and former federal MP and minister. garth@garth.ca