Search

The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint about a closed meeting held by the City of Hamilton’s Selection Committee for Agencies, Boards and Sub-Committees on October 24, 2023.

The Ombudsman investigated closed meetings held by council for the Municipality of Markstay-Warren on November 20 and December 11, 2023. At its meeting on November 20, 2023, council discussed a recent banquet for volunteer firefighters. At its meeting on December 11, 2023, council discussed a proposal to sell two fire trucks, a proposal to consolidate the Municipality’s fire and public works departments, and a recently completed integrity commissioner report. The Ombudsman determined that the discussions fit within the exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual. However, the Ombudsman also determined that council failed to state by resolution the general nature of the matter to be discussed in closed session at both meetings, contrary to section 239(4)(a) of the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman investigated a closed meeting held by the Committee of the Whole for the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville on July 5, 2023, to discuss an update on the Counties’ fundraising campaign for a municipally owned long-term care facility under the open meeting exception for plans and instructions for negotiations. The Ombudsman determined that the procedural discussion to determine whether or not to consider the update in closed session, and the closed session discussion about changes to the public fundraising policy, contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 because both discussions did not fit within any of the exceptions to the open meeting rules. However, a portion of the Committee’s discussion regarding internal communications processes related to donations and naming rights, including mention of particular donors and their wishes, fit within the exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual. Because this portion of the closed session discussion could not have been further parsed, this portion of the Committee of the Whole’s closed session discussion did not contravene the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman reviewed complaints about a special meeting held by council for the Township of Black River-Matheson on February 20, 2024 and about alleged gatherings of a quorum of councillors held prior to that meeting.

The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint regarding a closed meeting held by council for the City of London on April 2, 2024.

The Ombudsman received a complaint suggesting that five council members for the City of Greater Sudbury contravened the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001 when they attended a meeting held by the Flour Mill Community Action Network on April 8, 2024. The Ombudsman found that an illegal meeting under the Act did not occur. The five council members represented a quorum of the City’s Operations Committee; however, the council members did not materially advance the business or decision-making of the Operations Committee when they attended the meeting.

The Ombudsman received a complaint about a meeting of the Finance and Administration Committee for the City of Elliot Lake on December 18, 2023. The complaint alleged that council’s closed session discussion about procurement practices did not fall within any of the prescribed exceptions in the Municipal Act, 2001. The Ombudsman found that the Finance and Administration Committee for the City of Elliot Lake contravened the Municipal Act, 2001 when it received a presentation on proposed changes to the City’s procurement by-law in closed session on December 18, 2023. The Ombudsman found that the Committee’s discussion did not fit within any of the Act’s closed meeting exceptions.

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.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontarians turned to the provincial government for important information on protecting their health and that of their families and communities.

A bride whose name was misspelled on her marriage certificate sought our help after waiting in vain for ServiceOntario to send her a form to request a correction.

We heard from a man who was waiting for a new long-form birth certificate for his son.

A man came to us for help when a problem with his birth certificate prevented him from applying for federal employment insurance (EI).

A landlord complained to us that his municipality had put his tenant’s unpaid water and wastewater charges on his property tax bill, without notifying him in advance.

A woman whose medical condition makes her reliant on an electric wheelchair, bed and lift was facing having her hydro disconnected because of an outstanding bill of $15,000.

A low-income senior complained that her utility provider had been incorrectly applying her Ontario Electricity Support Program credit to her water bill for more than five years.

A woman whose daughter had to have an emergency root canal procedure – at a cost of $700 – sought our help in obtaining coverage through Healthy Smiles Ontario, a provincial program that covers dental care for eligible children and youth who are 17 and under.