The Ombudsman found that the Municipality of West Elgin’s emergency council meeting held on September 22, 2023 did not meet the criteria under the municipality’s procedural by-law for an emergency meeting and therefore public notice was required. In addition, the Ombudsman found that the municipality did not provide meaningful notice, as the meeting was advertised as electronic but no link was provided for the public to access a livestream of the meeting. This resulted in the meeting being effectively closed to the public contrary to the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001.
The Ombudsman found that the Township of McGarry provided adequate notice for an emergency meeting of council on September 1, 2023 regarding the resignation of the former mayor, in accordance with its procedure by-law.
The Ombudsman reviewed two complaints about an emergency closed meeting held by council for the Township of Prince. The Ombudsman determined that the Township contravened its procedural by-law and the Act’s open meeting requirements when it failed to make a reasonable effort to provide public notice of the meeting.
The Ombudsman reviewed a meeting of council for the Township of Tehkummah. Notice of the meeting was provided one day prior and stated that it was an emergency meeting. The Ombudsman found that the municipality failed to provide proper notice of the meeting since the procedure by-law required notice be posted at the municipal office two days prior to a meeting. The Ombudsman also found that the procedure by-law was silent on the calling of emergency meetings.
The Ombudsman reviewed a joint meeting held by the councils for the Village of Burk’s Falls and Armour Township. The Ombudsman found that each municipality was responsible for providing its own notice of the meeting. The Ombudsman found that Armour Township provided notice of the meeting in accordance with its procedure by-law, which required notice be posted on the municipal website. The Ombudsman found that the Village of Burk’s Falls did not provide notice of the meeting. The procedure by-law for the Village of Burk’s Falls requires notice be posted at the municipal office, recorded on the municipal telephone answering machine, and posted on the municipal website. The Ombudsman found that the meeting was not an emergency meeting and therefore, the Village of Burk’s Falls was required to provided notice in accordance with its procedure by-law.
The Ombudsman reviewed a joint meeting held by the councils for the Village of Burk’s Falls and Armour Township. The Ombudsman found that each municipality was responsible for providing its own notice of the meeting. The Ombudsman found that Armour Township provided notice of the meeting in accordance with its procedure by-law, which required notice be posted on the municipal website. The Ombudsman found that the Village of Burk’s Falls did not provide notice of the meeting. The procedure by-law for the Village of Burk’s Falls requires notice be posted at the municipal office, recorded on the municipal telephone answering machine, and posted on the municipal website. The Ombudsman found that the meeting was not an emergency meeting and therefore, the Village of Burk’s Falls was required to provided notice in accordance with its procedure by-law.
The Ombudsman reviewed a special meeting held by council for the Town of South Bruce Peninsula. Notice was provided 24 hours before the meeting took place. The Ombudsman found that the procedure by-law requires public notice be provided 48 hours prior to a meeting except in the case of emergency meetings. The Ombudsman found that the meeting qualified as an emergency meeting, therefore the municipality provided notice in accordance with the procedure by-law.
The Ombudsman reviewed a special meeting held by council for the Town of Moosonee. Notice was provided on a bulletin board. The procedure by-law requires that notice of all meetings be provided on the bulletin board as well as a local community TV channel. The Ombudsman found that notice of the special meeting was not provided on the community TV channel because of a lack of time. The Ombudsman found that the municipality failed to provide notice in accordance with the procedure by-law. The Ombudsman recommended that the procedure by-law address notice requirements for special meetings specifically. The Ombudsman also recommended that short-notice meetings be called only in the case of a genuine emergency in order to maximize public knowledge of and attendance at the meeting.
The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by the council for the Township of Adelaide Metcalfe. Public notice of the meeting was not provided. The procedure by-law states that in the case of an emergency meeting, the clerk shall determine how notice is provided. The Ombudsman found that the subject matter of the meeting should not have constituted an emergency and that notice should have been provided.
The Ombudsman reviewed an emergency meeting held by council of for the City of Elliot Lake. It was impossible to provide notice of the meeting on the municipal website because the matter under discussion arose after business hours. The municipality tried to inform the local newspaper and radio station. The Ombudsman found that the procedure by-law requires notice of special meetings be provided as soon as reasonably possible. The Ombudsman found that in this case there were reasonable steps taken to provide public notice.
The Ombudsman reviewed an emergency meeting held by council for the Town of Larder Lake. Notice of the meeting was provided to council and to an individual involved in the emergency matter but it was not provided to the public. The Ombudsman found that the procedure by-law did not require notice of emergency meetings. The Ombudsman recommended that even for urgent matters, notice of the public should be provided as soon as possible.