The Ombudsman received a complaint that the Committee of the Whole for the Township of Ramara contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 by holding two meetings over email on October 23 and October 24, 2024. In both cases, a member of the Committee sent an email to all other members. The Ombudsman found that when council members exchange written electronic communications, such as an email, they are present in an electronic place, satisfying the presence requirement of the definition of “meeting” under the Act. As both the October 23 and 24, 2024 emails were sent to all members of the Committee, a quorum was present in both cases.
Township of Ramara - October 10, 2025
Read the ReportThe Ombudsman received a complaint that the Committee of the Whole for the Township of Ramara contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 by holding two meetings over email on October 23 and October 24, 2024. In both cases, a member of the Committee sent an email to all other members, such that a quorum was present on the emails. In the case of the October 23 email, the Ombudsman found that it constituted a meeting under the Municipal Act, 2001 because it materially advanced the business or decision-making of the Committee. Specifically, the email contained a proposed course of action – the removal of a proposed food waste management program from the Township budget – which the Committee later adopted. In the case of the October 24 email, the Ombudsman found that, although a quorum of the Committee was present, the email did not materially advance Township business or decision-making and therefore was not a meeting under the Act.