A meeting must be closed if it includes discussion about an ongoing investigation by the Ontario Ombudsman, an appointed municipal ombudsman, or an appointed closed meeting investigator.
The Ombudsman found that the Board of Trustees for the Hamilton Waterfront Trust contravened the open meeting rules on February 21, 2023 when it discussed a letter outlining the Ombudsman’s findings about previous closed meeting complaints in closed session. The Ombudsman found that the Hamilton Waterfront Trust contravened the open meeting rules when it discussed this letter in closed session. The discussion did not fit within the “ongoing investigations by an ombudsman or appointed investigator” closed meeting exception, as the Ombudsman’s investigation had been completed prior to the meeting.