Hawkesbury, Town of

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Hawkesbury on November 8, 2021. The meeting was closed under the exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual. The Ombudsman concluded that council met in camera to discuss the conduct and performance of an identifiable individual. Accordingly, the Ombudsman found that council’s discussion fit within the closed meeting exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual under section 239(2)(b) of the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman received a complaint alleging that on June 15, 2020, a quorum of councillors for the Town of Hawkesbury discussed council business that they intended to introduce and vote on at a council meeting scheduled for the next day. The complaint alleged that this discussion amounted to a “meeting” and was improperly closed to the public contrary to the Municipal Act, 2001. The Ombudsman’s investigation found that the Mayor individually spoke with three councillors regarding employee terminations in separate discussions. The Ombudsman found that these serial discussions were not a meeting because a quorum of councillors was never present, as required by the definition of “meeting” in the Act.