Council for the Township of Coleman held a closed meeting under the open meeting exception for solicitor-client privilege to discuss different lawyers it could retain to provide legal advice. The Township had not engaged in communication with any of the lawyers and the discussion did not include the kind of information that would have been provided to the lawyer eventually retained by the Township. The Ombudsman found that the exception did not apply because there was no solicitor-client relationship at that point and no legal advice or communications protected by solicitor-client privilege before council.
Township of Coleman - March 25, 2026
Read the ReportCouncil for the Township of Coleman held a closed meeting to discuss different lawyers it could retain to provide legal advice. The Ombudsman found that the discussion fit within the open meeting exception for personal matters because the discussion went beyond scrutiny of the lawyers in their professional capacity and included council members’ opinion on the lawyers’ work performance, responsiveness and timeliness.
The Ombudsman found that the Township of Coleman’s emergency council meeting on July 15, 2025 did not meet the criteria under the Township’s procedure by-law for an emergency meeting. The Ombudsman found that, while the Township considered the circumstances surrounding the meeting urgent, it did not constitute an emergency.