Four members of council for the Township of Russell held one-on-one phone conversations about the mayoral vacancy ahead of a regular council meeting. The Ombudsman noted that sequential discussions are not strictly captured under the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001, but may be contrary to the principles of openness, transparency, and accountability when they materially advance council business and decision-making. However, in this case, the Ombudsman found that the discussions did not constitute a meeting as defined in the open meeting rules; a quorum of councillors was not present and council business and decision-making was not materially advanced.
The Ombudsman received a complaint alleging that on June 15, 2020, a quorum of councillors for the Town of Hawkesbury discussed council business that they intended to introduce and vote on at a council meeting scheduled for the next day. The complaint alleged that this discussion amounted to a “meeting” and was improperly closed to the public contrary to the Municipal Act, 2001. The Ombudsman’s investigation found that the Mayor individually spoke with three councillors regarding employee terminations in separate discussions. The Ombudsman found that these serial discussions were not a meeting because a quorum of councillors was never present, as required by the definition of “meeting” in the Act.