The Municipal Act, 2001 requires that municipalities have a process to investigate closed meeting complaints, including an officer to undertake the investigation. City Council approved Amberley Gavel Ltd. to conduct the investigations.
The investigator is completely independent and arms-length from the City and City Council and will report on their findings directly to City Council.
Anyone wishing to question the appropriateness of a meeting that was closed in full or in part to the public must submit their request in writing through email or a letter to the City Clerk outlining the following information:
- Your name and contact information
- Date of the Closed Session Meeting
- Report or Item number discussed in Closed Session
Requests for Closed Meeting Investigations are to be addressed to:
Kevin Arjoon, City Clerk
Office of the City Clerk
City of Burlington
426 Brant Street, PO Box 5013
Burlington, ON L7R 3Z6
Email: kevin.arjoon@burlington.ca
All requests will be forwarded to the Meetings Investigator and treated as confidential.
The Meetings Investigator will decide whether an investigation is warranted and if so, conduct his investigation and submit their findings and recommendations to an open meeting of City Council or the local board.
Closed Meeting Process at the City
The City of Burlington holds the vast majority of its Standing Committee and City Council meetings in open session as a matter of course. In those cases where a committee or City Council has gone in camera, the subject matter fell under one of the discretionary exceptions in Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001.
Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001 permits closed meetings of City Council, a local board or a committee of either, to discuss the following:
| In accordance with sections 239(2) and 239(3) of the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001, c. 25, a meeting, or part of a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter being considered is: |
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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; 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; l) 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; m) 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 the Municipal Act, or the investigator referred to in subsection 239.2 (1) of the Municipal Act; n) educational or training of the members where 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. |
In order to close a meeting to the public, City Council or the local board must state by resolution that a closed meeting will be held and the general nature of the matter to be considered at the closed meeting. As previously noted, City Council goes further to incorporate the specific subject matter to be discussed in camera as part of the resolution. Public notice of a meeting is also required.