Westport, Village of

The Ombudsman received a complaint regarding two meetings held by council for the Village of Westport on September 15, 2020. The complaint alleged that due to a technical issue, council did not livestream the virtual committee of the whole or special council meeting for the public. The complaint alleged that, as a result, these meetings were closed to the public contrary to the Municipal Act, 2001. The Ombudsman confirmed that the public was excluded from these meetings due to technical issues and that as a result, they were improperly closed to the public.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Village of Westport. The resolution to proceed in camera only cited the exception relied upon to go in session and described the matter to be discussed as a “legal matter.” The Ombudsman found that in order to meet the requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001, the municipality must provide a description of the subject matter to be discussed in closed session.