Niagara Catholic District School Board - Review of meetings on June 7 & 20, 2023
March 13, 2024 - The Ombudsman received two complaints about meetings held by the Board of Trustees of the Niagara Catholic District School Board. One complaint alleged that during a closed meeting on June 7, 2023, the Board improperly discussed whether members of the public would be required to show identification in order to attend a Board meeting on June 20, 2023. The complaint also raised concerns that the Board did not provide the public with information about the subject matter to be discussed in camera on June 7, 2023. The Ombudsman did not find any evidence to suggest that during the June 7, 2023 closed meeting, the Board discussed whether members of the public would be required to show identification at the June 20, 2023 meeting. Further, neither the Education Act nor the School Board’s by-laws required the Board to provide information about the matters to be discussed in closed session.
The Ombudsman also received two complaints that the School Board required members of the public to show identification in order to attend the Board's June 20, 2023 meeting, which the complainants felt was contrary to the Education Act’s open meeting requirements. The Ombudsman found that the School Board’s security measures for in-person attendance at the June 20, 2023 meeting were reasonable, given the safety concerns of the School Board.
One complaint also raised concerns that they believed this meeting was not livestreamed. Based on the available evidence, the Ombudsman determined that the June 20, 2023 meeting was livestreamed.
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