Lincoln, Town of

The Ombudsman investigated a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln. A single set of minutes was recorded during the meeting by one of the municipal clerks, however prior to the meeting, the other municipal clerks did not provide written delegations of their duty to take minutes as required by the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Ombudsman found that the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln held what constituted a joint meeting under section 236(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001. A single agenda was prepared for the meeting and the same public notice was posted by all three municipalities. During the meeting, council members from all three municipalities acted as a single body when passing resolutions and motions and a single set of minutes was recorded.

The Ombudsman investigated a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln. During the closed session, the discussion may have touched on the termination of municipal staff. The Ombudsman found that termination of staff was not the main focus of the discussion and was only briefly mentioned. A brief or passing reference to information that would fit into one of the open meeting exceptions (such as the exception for labour relations) is not sufficient to bring an entire discussion into an exception.

The Ombudsman reviewed a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln, and the Township of West Lincoln. During the closed session, a written statement by the local member of provincial parliament was read out loud. The Ombudsman found that the statement was not explicitly marked as confidential when it was provided to the municipalities before the meeting and did not represent an official position of the provincial government. Accordingly, the discussion did not fit within the exception for information supplied in confidence by another level of government.

The Ombudsman reviewed a joint meeting held by the councils for the Town of Grimsby, the Town of Lincoln and the Township of West Lincoln that was closed under the exception for education or training. The Ombudsman found that the first part of the closed session, which consisted of a presentation about municipal amalgamations and a regional governance review process, fit within the exception because it was an exchange of information and did not materially advance the business or decision-making of the municipal councils. The Ombudsman found the second part of the closed session, which involved small-group discussions about potential changes to local government structures, did not fit within the exception because the discussions were intended to form the basis of imminent decisions by the municipal councils and materially advanced their business or decision-making.