Municipality of Brockton - November 8, 2023
The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint that council for the Municipality of Brockton contravened the open meeting rules on February 14, 2023 when it discussed a partnership proposal during a closed session. The Ombudsman found that discussions about the partnership proposal did not fit within the exception for information supplied in confidence because the information discussed was not supplied confidentially and the reasonable expectation of harm was not clearly established. As a best practice, the Ombudsman recommended that, before relying on the exception for information supplied in confidence, the Municipality should confirm with the third party whether or not the information was supplied in confidence, and, where appropriate, inquire into what concrete harms could be expected if the information was disclosed publicly.