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The Ombudsman investigated closed meetings held by council for the Town of Essex on February 20, April 15, April 29, and May 6, 2024. The Ombudsman found that these discussions fit within several open meeting exceptions in the Municipal Act, 2001. The Ombudsman determined that the Town contravened the Act in failing to state by resolution the general nature of the subject matter to be discussed in each of the closed meetings.

The Ombudsman found that the council for the Township of Schreiber did not contravene the Municipal Act, 2001 during its closed meeting on March 25, 2025.

The Ombudsman found that an email sent by the Mayor of London to all of council on January 23, 2025, which included a specific request to members of the Community and Protective Services Committee, did not contravene the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman found that council for the City of Sarnia did not contravene the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001 on March 31 and May 26, 2025 when it held closed meetings to receive information regarding an ongoing zoning compliance matter.

The Ombudsman found that the General Committee for the council of the City of Mississauga did not contravene the Municipal Act, 2001 on October 23, 2024 when it held a closed meeting to receive a verbal update on proposed bike lane legislation.

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. The Ombudsman found that the information in the email sent on October 23, 2024 directly resulted in the Committee’s decision to remove a proposed food waste management program from the Township budget, and accordingly, the email was an illegal closed meeting under the Act. The Ombudsman found that the email sent on October 24, 2024 was not a meeting within the meaning of the Act because it was procedural in nature and did not form the basis for any changes made to the Township budget.

The Ombudsman received a complaint alleging that council for the Township of Frontenac Islands held an illegal meeting over email in August 2024 to discuss a delegation letter requesting a meeting with the Minister of Health at an upcoming municipal conference. The Ombudsman’s investigation found that the discussion over email contravened the open meeting rules, because a quorum of council participated in the email discussions, and the discussions materially advanced council business or decision-making.

A Francophone man was let go from his position as a volunteer firefighter with a municipality.

A man sought our help in getting money back from his municipality for a nonexistent water line.

A woman who was in hospital sought our help after water service was cut off to her home, where her son, who has autism and medical needs, was receiving at-home care in her absence.

A man called us in distress, saying he would become homeless if he could not immediately pay nearly $25,000 in property tax arrears and fees.

A man told us he was camping at a provincial park when a crew that was cutting trees damaged several trailers, including his.

A mother contacted us in a panic when she received notice that her electricity would be disconnected the next day.

A man who had purchased a plot of undeveloped land came to us after waiting almost two years for a development permit from the Niagara Escarpment Commission.

A resident was concerned about a municipality that was using aggregate (mining waste) from an abandoned mine as part of an infrastructure project and asked us to look into their concerns about this material.

A young woman who had been in the care of a children’s aid society (CAS) sought our help because she was not provided with continued care and support.

A group of nine youths detained at a youth justice centre complained to us that they could not get hair oil.

A young person in a youth justice centre contacted us after an incident where mechanical restraints were used on him.

A group home director contacted us about an Indigenous youth with special needs who had been in the home’s care for seven years.