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The Ombudsman received complaints alleging that council for the Township of Russell may have held an illegal meeting before a regular council meeting on April 29, 2024 to discuss how to fill the vacant mayor's seat.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is seeking feedback on proposed changes to the municipal code of conduct and integrity commissioner framework for Ontario municipalities, in connection with legislative amendments that were proposed in Bill 241, the Municipal Accountability Act, 2024.

The Ombudsman reviewed complaints about several meetings held by council for the Township of Russell in 2023 and 2024. The Ombudsman found that in camera discussions about a costing update for a new recreation complex fit the open meeting exception for plans and instructions for negotiations, since the discussions revealed how much the Township was willing to spend on the project.

Investigation into matters relating to the Regional Municipality of Niagara’s hiring of its Chief Administrative Officer, and its administration of his contract

Investigation into the reasonableness and transparency of by-law enforcement and billing practices in the Township of St. Clair and the County of Lambton.

The Ombudsman investigated a complaint alleging that the Township of Wollaston’s Communication Team is a committee of council, and that any meetings it may have held since its inception should have been subject to the open meeting requirements in the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ministry of Francophone Affairs is seeking input on its plan to amend the list of areas designated under the French Language Services Act.

The Ombudsman received a complaint alleging council for the Township of The North Shore contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 by holding an informal meeting immediately following a council meeting on March 20, 2024. The complaint also alleged council held informal meetings in the days following. The Ombudsman found that a quorum of council engaged in an informal discussion after a council meeting on March 20, 2024, and also participated in discussions over group text message between March 24 and March 25, 2024. However, although these discussions involved a quorum of council, they were not “meetings” subject to the open meeting rules because members did not materially advance the business or decision-making of council.

A Francophone father contacted us after visiting the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto with his family in the summer of 2023.

GO Transit, the public transit service for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, is a division of government agency Metrolinx.

A Francophone from British Columbia received a ticket from an Ontario municipality requiring him to pay thousands of dollars in fines.

The future Ontario line will be a 15.6-kilometre subway line in Toronto. A Franco-Torontonian who wanted to know how work on the line was coming along complained to us that the social media content on X (@OntarioLine) for this Metrolinx project was in English only.

The Child and Family Services Review Board conducts reviews and hearings on a number of matters that affect children, youth and families in Ontario.

In the Commissioner’s 2022-2023 Annual Report, we mentioned a Francophone who had received a bill from the Ministry of Transportation’s Highway Incident Claims Unit following a car crash in the Ottawa area.

A Francophone who was interested in taking a firearm safety course visited the Firearms Safety Education Service of Ontario (FSESO) website, as the FSESO offers firearm handling courses.

While riding the Viva Blue bus line, operated by York Region Transit (YRT) between Newmarket and Toronto, a Francophone woman noticed that a Metrolinx brochure available in the bus was in English only.

Two Francophone students who were new to Ontario contacted us to report that the financial aid staff at an English-language college who administer the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) were unable to process their applications, as none of them could review the documents the students had submitted in French.

After completing truck driver training in Ottawa, a Francophone tried multiple times to get a certified bilingual driver examiner for his test at a DriveTest centre in southern Ottawa, a designated area under the French Language Services Act.

In fall 2023, a Francophone contacted us to report the lack of French in the social media posts of an Ontario museum.