The County of Essex believes strongly in open and transparent government but will sometimes discuss confidential information in camera in accordance with Ontario's Municipal Act.
When can a meeting be closed to the public?
Legislation
The Ontario Municipal Act, 2001 allows for any person to request that an investigation be undertaken respecting whether a municipality, local board or a committee of either has complied with the closed meeting rules contained within s. 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001.
The relevant legislation has been set out below.
Meetings open to public
239 (1) Except as provided in this section, all meetings shall be open to the public.
Exceptions
(2) A meeting or part of a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter being considered is,
(a) the security of the property of the municipality or local board;
(b) personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees;
(c) a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board;
(d) labour relations or employee negotiations;
(e) litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board;
(f) advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose;
(g) a matter in respect of which a council, board, committee or other body may hold a closed meeting under another Act;
(h) information explicitly supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency of any of them;
(i) a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization;
(j) a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial or financial information that belongs to the municipality or local board and has monetary value or potential monetary value; or
(k) a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.
Other criteria
(3) A meeting or part of a meeting shall be closed to the public if the subject matter being considered is,
(a) a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, if the council, board, commission or other body is the head of an institution for the purposes of that Act; or
(b) an ongoing investigation respecting the municipality, a local board or a municipally-controlled corporation by the Ombudsman appointed under the Ombudsman Act, an Ombudsman referred to in subsection 223.13 (1) of this Act, or the investigator referred to in subsection 239.2 (1).
Educational or training sessions
(3.1) A meeting of a council or local board or of a committee of either of them may be closed to the public if the following conditions are both satisfied:
1. The meeting is held for the purpose of educating or training the members.
2. At the meeting, no member discusses or otherwise deals with any matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the council, local board or committee.
Resolution
(4) Before holding a meeting or part of a meeting that is to be closed to the public, a municipality or local board or committee of either of them shall state by resolution,
(a) the fact of the holding of the closed meeting and the general nature of the matter to be considered at the closed meeting; or
(b) in the case of a meeting under subsection (3.1), the fact of the holding of the closed meeting, the general nature of its subject-matter and that it is to be closed under that subsection.
Closed Meeting Investigation
If you feel Council or a Council committee or board has improperly held a closed meeting, you can request an investigation.
Aird Berlis Investigates closed meeting complaints and publicly releases its findings.
Request for Investigation Procedure
A Request for Investigation can be submitted by completing the Request for Closed Meeting Investigation Form, which is submitted electronically, directly to the Municipal Clerk. Hard copies of the Request for Closed Meeting Investigation Form can be obtained by contacting the Clerk's office. Any printed or hand-written forms must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked "private and confidential" and contain the following information:
- Name of the Municipality
- Complainant's name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (if applicable)
- Date of closed meeting under consideration
- Nature and background of the particular occurrence
- Any activities undertaken (if any) to resolve the concern
- Any other relevant information
- Original signature
All mailed-in requests shall be sealed in an envelope and submitted by mail, courier or in person directly to:
County of Essex
360 Fairview Avenue West,
Suite 202, Essex Ontario,
N8M 1Y6
Attention: Municipal Clerk - Private and Confidential
All complaints will be treated as confidential at all times and will be forwarded directly to the County's Closed Meeting Investigator Aird Berlis.
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