The Ombudsman found that an interview panel convened by the Mayor of the City of Hamilton to advise her on selecting a new City Manager using her strong mayor powers was not a committee of council whose gatherings were meetings subject to the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001. The City therefore did not contravene the Act. The Ombudsman also encouraged the City to provide public information to clarify the nature and role of any similar advisory bodies in the future to further increase the accountability and transparency of mayoral decisions.
The Ombudsman found that a gathering of members of the Town of Amherstburg’s Accessibility Advisory Committee on September 8, 2022 did not contravene the Municipal Act, 2001 when the members visited a public transit facility and observed a demonstration of the features of an accessible bus. Since the gathering did not materially advance the Committee’s business or decision-making, it was not a meeting subject to the open meeting rules.
The Ombudsman found that a working group in the City of Hamilton is not a committee, and is therefore not subject to the open meeting rules of the Municipal Act, 2001. The working group was not designated as a committee by municipal by-law, nor did it function as a committee because it did not have any delegated authority from council to make decisions. The working group’s primary role was administrative.
The Ombudsman reviewed meetings held by the Waste Management Advisory Committee for the City of Hamilton. The committee is a committee of council subject to the open meeting rules, as at least 50% of its members are members of council. The municipality failed to post notice of two meetings of the committee in contravention of the Act. While the municipality posted a regular meeting time for the committee on its website, it did not indicate a location. The two meetings in question also took place at a time different from that posted. The Ombudsman recommended the municipality ensure it always provide notice before meetings of the committee, and that the municipality amend its procedure by-law to provide for notice of advisory committee meetings.