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We noticed that the same text – in English only – appeared on both sides of the provincial plaque at Old City Hall in downtown Toronto.

A Francophone man told us about a workplace accident that left him unable to use his legs for a few years.

Ontario Northland, a government agency, is responsible for providing transportation services in Northern Ontario.

In February 2024, we learned via the news media of possible changes happening at Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, a Francophone daycare centre in Toronto that appears in Ontario Regulation 398/93 as a government agency designated under the French Language Services Act.

To prepare for a virtual hearing where he was representing himself without the help of legal counsel, a Francophone man tried to access a secure portal on the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website.

An employee of a Francophone non-profit organization in eastern Ontario was responsible for organizing French language training for members of the employer’s joint health and safety committee.

A Francophone received an automated speed enforcement camera ticket in the mail from their municipality.

A Francophone woman contacted us to share an experience she found particularly distressing.

A Francophone with more than a decade of experience with a professional association in the education field contacted us after he noticed some errors on the French version of the association’s website.

During a visit, an Ottawa Francophone noticed that the name of the Upper Canada Village tourist site in Eastern Ontario was in English only.

During a visit to the Legislative Assembly, we noticed that the security staff were welcoming visitors in English only, and the ID cards they gave to visitors were also in English only.

When visiting the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto with his family, a Francophone noticed that the touchscreen ticket vending machines at the entrance were only available in English.

Commissioner's Message - Five years of contributions to Ontario’s vibrant Francophone community: I am pleased to present the 2023-2024 Annual Report of the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario. May 1, 2024, marked five years to the day since the Ontario Ombudsman was entrusted with monitoring the administration of the French Language Services Act.

The Ombudsman investigated closed meetings held by council for the Town of Cochrane on October 10 and October 16, 2023, where council discussed a proposed plan to encourage local development and growth by selling municipally owned land lots at a nominal fee and with a property tax rebate. The Ombudsman determined that the discussion at both meetings did not fit within the cited open meeting exception for acquisition or disposition of land because the transactions were too speculative, but that they did fit within the exception for plans and instructions for negotiations in the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman investigated a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Cochrane on February 13, 2024 about the resignation of its integrity commissioner. The Ombudsman found that council’s discussion about the integrity commissioner’s role with the municipality fit within the open meeting exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual in the Municipal Act, 2001. However, the Ombudsman also found that council’s subsequent closed session discussion about the process it would follow to replace the integrity commissioner did not fit within any open meeting exceptions in the Act, could have been parsed from the first part of the discussion, and should have been discussed in open session.

The Ombudsman reviewed complaints about a closed special meeting of council for Norfolk County on January 9, 2024, as well as closed meetings held by council-in-committee on February 14, 2023, November 15, 2023, and January 16, 2024. The Ombudsman found that at its January 9, 2024 meeting, council did not provide sufficient detail in its resolution to proceed in camera and discussed a matter in camera that did not fit within the open meeting exception cited in its resolution. The Ombudsman also found that council-in-committee did not contravene the Act during its February 14, 2023 closed meeting, but did contravene the Act during its meetings on November 15, 2023 and January 16, 2024 by discussing some issues in camera that did not come within any of the exceptions to the open meeting rules.

The Ombudsman investigated complaints alleging that council for the Municipality of West Elgin held meetings that did not comply with the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001 by failing to livestream to the public all or part of its council meetings on September 14, September 22, September 28, October 12, and October 16, 2023. The Ombudsman found no evidence to substantiate the allegation that part of the council meeting on September 14, 2023 was not livestreamed to the public. In addition, the Ombudsman found the notice for the meeting on October 12, 2023 provided accurate information regarding public access. However, the Municipality of West Elgin did not provide meaningful notice of its council meeting on September 22, September 28, and October 16, 2023, resulting in the meetings being effectively closed to the public.

The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint about an interview panel convened by the Mayor of the City of Hamilton to advise her on the selection of a new City Manager.

The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint that alleged council for the Township of McGarry contravened the open meeting rules during an emergency meeting of council on September 1, 2023. The Ombudsman found that portions of council’s closed session discussion concerning the former Mayor’s resignation and potential appointees to fill the resulting vacancies fit within the open meeting exceptions. Although the remaining portions of the discussion about what method council would use to fill the vacancies did not fit within any exceptions to the open meeting rules, requiring council to have parsed those parts of the discussion would have detracted from free, open, and uninterrupted discussion. The Ombudsman further determined that the Township provided notice for the emergency meeting in accordance with its procedure by-law and did not hold votes contrary to the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman received a complaint about a strategic planning session that was held as a closed special meeting by council for the City of Cornwall on November 4, 2023. The complaint raised concerns that some discussions during this meeting did not fit into any of the open meeting exceptions under the Municipal Act, 2001. The Ombudsman found that council contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 because the discussions did not come within any of the open meeting exceptions.