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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 woman contacted us for help in correcting the ownership information for her deceased parents’ house, which had been in the family for close to 50 years but had mistakenly been left in the previous owner’s name at the time they bought it.

The family of a client of the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) told us they were alarmed to hear from their relative’s cellphone provider that their bills – which the OPGT is supposed to pay on the client’s behalf – had not been paid in several months.

A landlord came to us for help after her tenant finally paid her overdue rent directly to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) – and the money was sent to the previous owner of the building instead.

A financial advisor who had paid the fee to renew his licence with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) complained to us after waiting more than two months for a confirmation from them.

The Ombudsman investigated a closed meeting held by council for the City of Kitchener on August 14, 2023 to discuss the implementation of a centralized model for operations related to certain arts and entertainment facilities. The Ombudsman found that parts of council’s discussion fit within the exceptions for information supplied in confidence by a third party at section 239(2)(i) of the Municipal Act, 2001; labour relations and employee negotiations at section 239(2)(d) of the Act; and plans and instructions for negotiations at section 239(2)(k) of the Act. As the discussion could not have realistically been parsed, the Ombudsman found that council’s entire discussion fit within those exceptions.

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.

We received complaints from members of First Nations about delayed reimbursements under the Ontario First Nations HST rebate program.

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.