The Ombudsman’s investigation found that 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, but that these individual discussions were not a meeting because a quorum of council was not present and council business and decision-making was not materially advanced.
The Ombudsman investigated a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Cochrane on February 13, 2024. The Ombudsman found that council’s discussion regarding the integrity commissioner’s role, including discussion of their performance and suitability for the position, fit within the open meeting exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual. However, the Ombudsman found that council’s subsequent closed session discussion about the hiring process it would follow to find a new integrity commissioner did not fit within the exception, could have been parsed from the first part of the discussion, and should have been held in open session.
The Ombudsman found that council for the Township of McGarry’s closed session discussion of the former mayor’s resignation, and discussions about specific potential appointees to fill the resulting vacancies on September 1, 2023, fit within the exception for personal matters. While the Ombudsman determined that the interspersed discussions about whether to fill the vacancies by appointment or through a by-election did not fit within any open meeting exceptions, parsing those parts of the meeting would have detracted from free, open, and uninterrupted discussion. Accordingly, council’s entire closed session discussion was permitted under the Municipal Act, 2001. The Ombudsman also noted that council may wish to consider how to structure similar conversations in the future to increase the openness and transparency of its decision-making.
Council for the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie relied on the exception for personal matters to hold a closed session discussion about a vacant staff position. The discussion included information about the salary and general responsibilities of the role. The Ombudsman found that the discussion did not involve an identifiable individual, the position was vacant, and the discussion only pertained to the position itself. Accordingly, the “personal matters” exception did not apply.
The Ombudsman received a complaint suggesting members of council for the City of London met outside of a formal council or committee meeting to discuss filling a vacant council seat with a specific individual since members of the public knew to provide letters of support to council on that subject ahead of the City’s Corporate Services Committee meeting on October 12, 2021. The vacancy had been announced publicly in September 2021 and had also been reported in the media around the same time. The Ombudsman found no evidence that the Committee or council met privately to discuss the vacancy in advance of the Committee meeting on October 12, 2021.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by the Township of South Algonquin on September 8, 2021. The meeting was closed under the exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual. The Ombudsman concluded that council met in camera to discuss the qualifications and suitability of candidates for a vacant council position. Accordingly, the Ombudsman found that council’s discussion fit within the open meeting exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual.
The Ombudsman investigated a closed session held by council for the Town of Plympton-Wyoming. The meeting was closed under the personal matters exception. Council discussed the employment history and qualifications of two individuals interested in filling a council vacancy. Accordingly, this part of the discussion fit within the personal matters exception. Council also discussed the method to be used to fill the vacancy either a by-election or appointment. The Ombudsman found that this part of the discussion did not concern personal matters of identifiable individuals. According, this part of the discussion was not permitted to be closed to the public.
The Ombudsman investigated a closed session held by the committee of the whole for the Township of Johnson. The committee discussed appointing an individual to fill a council vacancy. During the closed session, the committee discussed the employment history and qualifications of the individuals interested in filling the vacancy. The Ombudsman found that this discussion fit within the personal matters exception. However, the committee voted in closed session to recommend a candidate to fill the council vacancy, contrary to the open meeting rules set out in the Municipal Act, 2001.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of The North Shore relying on the personal matters exception to discuss a vacant council seat. During the closed session, council discussed whether to fill the vacancy by appointment or by by-election, and at least one identifiable individual who could fill the vacancy. The discussion about the identifiable individual involved personal information regarding qualifications and experience. The Ombudsman found that this portion of the discussion fit within the personal matters exception. However, the Ombudsman found that council’s discussion about how to fill the council vacancy (whether by appointment or by-election) did not include any personal information about an identifiable individual. Accordingly, this portion of the discussion did not fit within the personal matters exception.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Township of Billings to discuss candidates to fill a vacant council position. The closed meeting relied on the personal matters exception. During the closed session, council chose a candidate to fill the vacancy but did not discuss any personal information relating to the candidates. The Ombudsman found that the discussion did not fit within the personal matters exception.