West Lincoln, Township of

The Ombudsman investigated a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln. A single set of minutes was recorded during the meeting by one of the municipal clerks, however prior to the meeting, the other municipal clerks did not provide written delegations of their duty to take minutes as required by the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman found that the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln held what constituted a joint meeting under section 236(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001. A single agenda was prepared for the meeting and the same public notice was posted by all three municipalities. During the meeting, council members from all three municipalities acted as a single body when passing resolutions and motions and a single set of minutes was recorded.

The Ombudsman investigated a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln. During the closed session, the discussion may have touched on the termination of municipal staff. The Ombudsman found that termination of staff was not the main focus of the discussion and was only briefly mentioned. A brief or passing reference to information that would fit into one of the open meeting exceptions (such as the exception for labour relations)is not sufficient to bring an entire discussion into an exception.

The Ombudsman reviewed a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln, and the Township of West Lincoln. During the closed session, a written statement by the local member of provincial parliament was read out loud. The Ombudsman found that the statement was not explicitly marked as confidential when it was provided to the municipalities before the meeting and did not represent an official position of the provincial government. Accordingly, the discussion did not fit within the exception for information supplied in confidence by another level of government.

The Ombudsman reviewed a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln that was closed under the exception for education or training. The Ombudsman found that the first part of the closed session, which consisted of a presentation about municipal amalgamations and a regional governance review process, fit within the exception because it was an exchange of information and did not materially advance the business or decision-making of the municipal councils. The Ombudsman found the second part of the closed session, which involved small-group discussions about potential changes to local government structures, did not fit within the exception because the discussions were intended to form the basis of imminent decisions by the municipal councils and materially advanced their business or decision-making.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by the Administration/Finance/Fire Committee for the Township of West Lincoln that relied on the exception for solicitor-client privilege to discuss enforcement of a site alteration by-law. The municipality’s solicitor was not present during the meeting, nor was new legal advice considered during the meeting. The committee had received numerous legal opinions at prior closed meetings regarding the site alteration by-law and incorporated the advice into its discussion during the closed meeting under review. The Ombudsman found that it was not necessary for the committee to discuss new legal advice during the closed meeting. The discussion fit within the solicitor-client exception.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by the Administration/Finance/Fire Committee for the Township of West Lincoln. The Ombudsman found that the resolution to proceed in camera only referenced the exceptions relied upon to close the meeting to the public but did not provide further information about the subject of the discussions. The Ombudsman also found that there was an opportunity to add more information about the in camera discussion to the resolution based on a resolution passed in open session that was related to the in camera discussion.

The Ombudsman reviewed a meeting held by the Administration/Finance/Fire Committee of the Township of West Lincoln which included a closed session. Notice of the meeting was posted on the municipal website and on the paper meeting calendar in the township administration building in accordance with the procedure by-law. There was a concern that the notice did not provide information about the content of the closed session discussion. The Ombudsman found that advance notice of the individual matters to be discussed in closed session is not required and therefore, there was no violation of the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by the Administration/Finance/Fire Committee for the Township of West Lincoln to discuss by-law enforcement. The closed meeting relied on the personal matters exception. During the discussion, the committee identified properties where fill was being dumped contrary to a site alteration by-law. The discussion did not identify any individuals by name. The Ombudsman found that the municipal locations and estimated market values of certain properties did not constitute personal information about an individual property owner.