Cochrane, Town of

The Ombudsman investigated two closed meetings held by council for the Town of Cochrane on October 10 and October 16, 2023, where council discussed a proposed plan to encourage local development and growth by selling municipally owned land lots at a nominal fee and with a property tax rebate. The Ombudsman determined the discussion at both meetings was too speculative to fit within the cited open meeting exception for acquisition or disposition of land because any transaction discussed was hypothetical, and no specific land was identified for sale.

The Ombudsman investigated two closed meetings held by council for the Town of Cochrane on October 10 and October 16, 2023, where council discussed a proposed plan to encourage local development and growth by selling municipally owned land lots at a nominal fee and with a property tax rebate. The Ombudsman determined that the discussion at both meetings did not fit within the cited open meeting exception for acquisition or disposition of land, but did fit within the exception for plans and instructions for negotiations, as the Town was debating possible courses of action in ongoing negotiations with a third party relevant to the proposed plan.

The Ombudsman investigated a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Cochrane on February 13, 2024. Council relied on the open meeting exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual to discuss the integrity commissioner’s role with the Town. The Ombudsman found that this discussion fit within the cited exception because it went beyond the integrity commissioner’s professional role and included information related to their performance and suitability for the position. The Ombudsman also found that the integrity commissioner’s resignation letter constituted personal information. However, the Ombudsman found that council’s subsequent closed session discussion about the hiring process it would follow to find a new integrity commissioner did not fall under the exception for personal matters because it covered only the procedural steps of hiring; council did not discuss the personal information of any potential candidates.

The Ombudsman investigated a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Cochrane on February 13, 2024. The Ombudsman found that council’s discussion regarding the integrity commissioner’s role, including discussion of their performance and suitability for the position, fit within the open meeting exception for personal matters about an identifiable individual. However, the Ombudsman found that council’s subsequent closed session discussion about the hiring process it would follow to find a new integrity commissioner did not fit within the exception, could have been parsed from the first part of the discussion, and should have been held in open session.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Cochrane that relied on the exception for solicitor-client privilege to discuss the Ombudsman’s recommendations made in a previous report. The municipality’s solicitor was present during the meeting and provided legal advice to council. The Ombudsman found that council’s discussion fit within the exception for solicitor-client privilege.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Cochrane. The resolution to proceed in camera stated that the matter to be discussed was “property and personnel matters.” The Ombudsman noted that the investigation into the meeting was unable to clarify the specific nature of the topic discussed in camera. The Ombudsman recommended that in order to fulfill its obligations under the Municipal Act, 2001 and its own procedure by-law, the municipality must provide in the resolution a general description of the subject matter to be discussed in closed session.

The Ombudsman reviewed a closed meeting held by council for the Town of Cochrane, which relied on the personal matters exception to discuss a contract with a specific member of the public. In addition to professional information, council’s discussion included information about the individual’s credibility and conduct. Although the exception does not apply to professional or business information about an individual, information will be considered personal information where an individual’s conduct is scrutinized. The Ombudsman found that council’s discussion fit within the personal matters exception.