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The Ombudsman reviewed complaints about a meeting of the City of Oshawa’s Corporate and Finance Services Committee which raised concerns about the public notice – which was temporarily unavailable on the City’s website due to a technical issue – and about the failure of the audio during the meeting webcast.

The Ombudsman received a complaint about the December 11, 2023 meeting of council for the Township of Wollaston.

The Ombudsman received a complaint regarding two closed meetings held by council for the Municipality of Callander on December 12, 2023 and January 9, 2024.

The Ombudsman received a complaint about a meeting held by council for the Town of Iroquois Falls on November 28, 2022.

The Ombudsman received complaints about the meeting practices of the Township of Tiny Administrative Centre Committee.

A woman who could not pay her property taxes due to financial hardship sought our help after her municipality refused her request to cancel her debt.

A homeowner reached out to us when the land around her home was rezoned from agricultural to industrial.

We were contacted by the leaseholder of Crown land that included ski trails and a drainage system that had previously been installed by his municipality.

A business owner complained to us after his municipality informed him that a set of stairs on the back of his building encroached on municipal property.

We received complaints from two inmates at the same facility, alleging they had been sexually assaulted.

We received complaints from a group of 10 inmates, all women, that they were strip searched by correctional officers in their unit, in view of one another.

A transgender inmate contacted our Office after she was involved in an altercation with correctional officers.

The Ombudsman received a complaint that the Board of Directors for Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit (SMART) does not hold meetings that are open to the public. The Ombudsman found that SMART is a shared local board of 10 member municipalities that is subject to the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman received complaints that a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln did not adhere to the open meeting rules. The Ombudsman found that the first part of the closed session discussion fit within the closed meeting exception for education or training. However, small-group discussions that occurred during the second part of the closed session did not fit within any of the exceptions.

The Ombudsman received a complaint regarding a meeting of council for the Town of Halton Hills held on August 28, 2023. The complaint alleged that council’s closed session discussion of recent provincial policy announcements about municipalities did not fit within the closed meeting exceptions in the Municipal Act, 2001. The complaint also alleged that council did not pass a resolution stating that this matter would be discussed in closed session. The Ombudsman found that the discussion did not fit within any exceptions to the open meeting rules, and that council failed to include a general description of this topic in its resolution to proceed into closed session. Council accordingly contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 on August 28, 2023. The Ombudsman also noted that council’s minutes incorrectly suggested that council had included this topic of discussion in its resolution when it had not.

The Ombudsman investigated closed meetings held by council for the Township of Jocelyn on January 10 and 13, February 7, April 4, and October 10, 2023 and found that the discussions at each of these meetings fit within various closed meeting exceptions in the Municipal Act, 2001. However, the Ombudsman also found that the Township contravened the Act at its October 10 meeting by failing to pass a resolution to enter into closed session, failing to take closed meeting minutes, and by improperly closing the beginning of the meeting to the public. Although no illegal votes occurred at the meetings, the Ombudsman nevertheless recommended as a best practice that council clearly identify any specific directions given in closed session, formally vote on them, and record that vote in the closed meeting minutes.  

The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint that the Committee of the Whole for the Township of Lanark Highlands contravened the open meeting rules on June 27, 2023 when it discussed a management letter regarding draft financial statements with an auditor during a closed session. The Ombudsman found that the discussion about the management letter fit within the exception for security of the property of the municipality because the information discussed related to an ongoing threat to the security of the municipality’s property. However, the Ombudsman found that the Township contravened the requirements of section 239(7) of the Municipal Act, 2001 on June 27, 2023 by failing to keep an adequate record of what was discussed in camera. As a best practice, the Ombudsman recommended that the Township make audio or video recordings of its closed sessions.

The Ombudsman investigated closed meetings held by council for the Township of McMurrich/Monteith on September 5 and September 14, 2023, during which Council discussed a potential disposal of municipally owned property. The Ombudsman found that council did not contravene the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001. The first portion of the closed meeting discussion on September 5 discussion fit within the exception for advice subject to solicitor-client privilege, and the second portion fit within the exception for the acquisition or disposition of land. The closed meeting discussion on September 14 fit within the exception for the acquisition or disposition of land.

The Ombudsman investigated a closed meeting held by council for the Municipality of Temagami on June 20, 2023, during which council discussed previously owned property, a request to sell property, and issues related to a local long-term care home. The Ombudsman found that council did not contravene the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001 as these discussions fit within the exceptions for personal matters about an identifiable individual, acquisition or disposition of land, and litigation or potential litigation. The Ombudsman also reviewed whether public notice was provided for the June 20, 2023 meeting, and found that the municipality had provided notice several days prior. The Ombudsman noted as a best practice that meeting minutes should be made available publicly available to improve accountability and transparency.

The Ombudsman received a complaint regarding several meetings held by council for the Town of Amherstburg in 2022 and 2023. The complaint alleged that council contravened the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001 by failing to provide sufficient information about the topics of discussion in resolutions to proceed into closed session on August 8, 2022, February 13, 2023, and March 27, 2023. The complaint also alleged that council held meetings on November 29 and 30, 2022, which were not livestreamed and were not open to the public, and that council failed to provide public notice of its February 14, 2023 training session. The Ombudsman found that council contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 by failing to provide sufficient information about some of the topics of discussion in its resolutions to proceed into closed session. However, the Ombudsman found that the Town did not contravene the Municipal Act, 2001 on November 29 and 30, 2022, as he determined that the public could have attended the meetings in person, although he was unable to determine whether they were livestreamed. Likewise, council did not contravene the open meeting rules regarding notice of the February 14, 2023 meeting, as its training session did not come within the definition of meeting, and was therefore not subject to the open meeting rules. The complaint also alleged that a gathering of members of the Town’s Accessibility Advisory Committee at a transit facility, where committee members were shown a demonstration of an accessible bus, in September 2022 was a meeting that was subject to the open meeting rules. The Ombudsman found that the Town did not contravene the Municipal Act, 2001 on September 8, 2022, as the gathering at the transit facility did not materially advance the committee’s business or decision-making, and was not a meeting subject to the open meeting rules.