The Ombudsman found that the in camera discussion held by council-in-committee for Norfolk County on January 16, 2024 did not fall under the cited open meeting exception for personal matters, as the salary grids reviewed during the session were not personal information that identified any individuals. However, the discussion was permitted under the exception for labour relations, as it related to a staff reorganization plan.
Council for the Town of Deep River relied on the exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual to hold a closed session discussion about the Town’s organizational structure. The discussion included information about a change in position for two identifiable employees. Council discussed changes in the employees’ salaries and general responsibilities, as well as the impact of the changes on the Town’s organizational structure. The Ombudsman found that this information qualified as personal information. Accordingly, the discussion fit within the exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual.
The Ombudsman received a complaint about three closed meetings held by council for the Township of Huron-Kinloss. It was alleged that the discussions closed under the exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual at each of these meetings were held in violation of the open meeting rules found in the Municipal Act, 2001. The Ombudsman found that council discussed personal information about specific municipal employees such as their salaries, job performance, and upcoming retirement. There was therefore no contravention of the open meeting rules in closing these discussions to the public.
The Ombudsman found that council for the Municipality of The Nation contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 when it discussed in closed session the subject of changes to councillor remuneration. The Ombudsman found this discussion did not fall within the exception for personal matters that was cited for closing the meeting.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting that was held by council for the City of St. Catharines to discuss a proposed staff position, government relations adviser, under the labour relations or employee negotiations exception. Council’s discussion focused on the role and nature of the proposed staff position, including the position’s general responsibilities and duties, salary, and contract length. The Ombudsman found that the discussion did not fit within the labour relations or employee negotiations exception because the discussion did not pertain to the relationship between the municipality and its employees or reference specific individuals who might be hired.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the City of Timmins, which relied on the personal matters exception to discuss the upcoming retirement of the chief administrative officer (CAO). Council discussed the CAO’s salary and the recruitment process to hire a new CAO. There were no candidates identified or discussed during the meeting. The Ombudsman found that general consideration of a hiring process is not personal information and does not fit within the personal matters exception unless the discussion is incidental or brief. Therefore, council’s discussion about the recruitment process did not fit within the personal matters exception.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Russell that relied on the closed matters exception to discuss councillor remuneration and staff remuneration. Council’s discussion about employee compensation involved a discussion about systematic changes to the municipality’s salary grid and changes to the salary of identified employees. The Ombudsman found that council’s discussion about employee compensation involved personal information about identifiable individuals and therefore, this portion of council’s discussion fit within the personal matters exception. The Ombudsman found that discussion of councillor remuneration did not fit within the personal matters exception.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Russell to discuss councillor compensation and employee compensation. Council’s discussion about staff compensation involved a discussion about systematic changes to the municipality’s salary grid. While the municipality did not rely on the labour relations or employee negotiations exception, the Ombudsman found that compensation matters relating to staff members fit within the labour relations or employee negotiations exception. The Ombudsman found that councillor remuneration matters do not fit within the labour relations or employee negotiations exception since council members are not municipal employees.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Village of Casselman to discuss a municipal organizational chart, individual staff positions, and staff restructuring. The meeting was closed under the personal matters exception. The Ombudsman found that the discussion about salary ranges for management positions on its own did not fit within the exception; however, in this case the discussion of salary ranges was related to the broader discussion of individual staff positions. Therefore, the discussion fit within the personal matters exception.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Russell to discuss a staff member who was a candidate for the position of deputy clerk. The meeting relied on the personal matters exception. When council resumed the open session, it appointed the individual to the position of deputy clerk. The Ombudsman found that the discussion fit within the personal matters exception since it identified the candidate by name and covered the individual’s employment history, job performance, and salary information.
The Ombudsman reviewed closed meetings held by council for the City of Elliot Lake, which relied on the personal matters exception to discuss the recruitment of a new chief administrative officer (CAO). The discussions involved changes to the current CAO’s contract and extending the service of the current CAO. The Ombudsman found that the information discussed by council during the meetings related to specific terms of an identified employee’s contract, including salary. Accordingly, the discussion fit within the personal matters exception.
The Ombudsman reviewed closed meetings held by council for the City of Elliot Lake to discuss the recruitment of a new chief administrative officer (CAO). The discussions involved changes to the current CAO’s contract and extending the service of the current CAO. The Ombudsman found that the information discussed by council during the meetings related to specific terms of an identified employee’s contract, including salary. Accordingly, the discussion fit within the exception for labour relations or employee negotiations.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Municipality of South Huron that relied on the personal matters exception to discuss a number of staffing issues. The discussion included issues of staff performance reviews, reorganization, staff conduct, discipline, and the salaries of specific employees. The Ombudsman found that these matters are considered personal information for the purposes of the Municipal Act, 2001 and therefore they fit within the personal matters exception.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Municipality of South Huron to discuss a number of staffing issues, relying the labour relations exception. The discussion included staff performance reviews, staff conduct, discipline, and the salaries of specific employees. The Ombudsman found that the discussion fit within the labour relations or employee negotiations exception.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the City of Timmins that relied on the labour relations or employee negotiations exception to discuss the annual wage increase for council and non-union staff. It was the municipality’s long-standing practice to link council salaries to non-union staff salary rates. The discussion did not specifically address council remuneration separate from consideration of the general wage increase to apply to non-union staff. The Ombudsman found that the labour relations or employee negotiations exception applies to relations and conditions of work beyond those of collective bargaining, including remuneration outside of a traditional employment arrangement. The Ombudsman found that council’s consideration of a wage increase for non-unionized staff fit within the labour relations or employee negotiations exception. The Ombudsman found that the exception may only apply to council remuneration where it is linked to non-union staff remuneration and there is no separate consideration of council salaries.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by the Personnel Committee for the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands to discuss information and staff opinions on senior staff compensation. The meeting was closed under the exception for labour relations or employee negotiations. The committee’s mandate was to make recommendations to council about this issue and to negotiate a tentative agreement with employees on remuneration and retention. The Ombudsman found that the committee’s discussion fit within the labour relations or employee negotiations exception because the discussion was dealing directly with the terms of employment for senior staff.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by the Personnel Committee for the Township of Bonfield that relied on the labour relations or employee negotiations exception to discuss specific municipal employees, their jobs and pay status. The Ombudsman found that the committee’s discussion fit within the cited exception.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Mattawa, which relied on the personal matters exception to discuss the salary of a staff member. The Ombudsman found that an individual’s salary, as opposed to a salary range for a position, may qualify as personal information. Therefore, the discussion fit within the exception.