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Clarence-Rockland and Russell named in report
ed in his report. “And many are well-inten- tioned but baffled by the complexity of the law.” The Ombudsman’s office is sending out information packages on the Municipal Acts’s rules for procedure for in-camera sessions and also the authority of the Ombudsman’s Office to investigate com- plaints under the Sunshine Act. At pres- ent the Ombudsman’s Office is limited to investigating complaints and making rec- ommendations to councils regarding vio- lations. “As Ombudsman, my interest is the pub- lic interest, ensuring that municipalities respect the law,” Marin stated. “Municipal officials must understand that the inves- tigation of public complaints about their meetings is part of the responsibility that comes with their positions in local govern- ment.” In some American states there are pen- alties for council members who violate in- camera rules of procedure, ranging from fines to jail sentences. In Ontario , the om- budsman has no authority to levy penal- ties for Sunshine Law violations. Since the Sunshine Law was passed in 2008, Marin and his staff have investigated more than 300 complaints about viola- tions. During the year covered by the first OMLET report, the Ombudsman’s Office investigated 45 complaints, including sev- eral about Clarence-Rockland council, one
about Russell Township, and one about the United Counties of Prescott-Russell council (UCPR). The Clarence-Rockland case summa- rized in the report concerns “a series of informal meetings involving four of nine council members in December 2010 that attracted a lot of public speculation.” The OMLET investigation determined that the council members involved “were seeking information that would undoubtedly influ- ence future decision-making, and violated the spirit of the open meeting provisions.” Another complaint concerned discus- sion about “poor quality client services” during a May 2011 in-camera session that did not fall within the Municipal Act guidelines for a closed-door topic. One other complaint concerned an in-camera session in June 2011 during which several items were added to the agenda at the last minute for discussion. “OMLET advised council that matters
C OACH F INANCIER BUDGET GÉRER The OMLET report noted one complaint filed against the UCPR council but an in- vestigation found no grounds for the com- plaint and the case was closed. The complete OMLET report is available online at www.ombudsman.on.ca. should not be discussed in these circum- stances unless they are urgent,” stated the report, “and called on council to amend its procedure by-law to require a formal resolution before a new item is added to a meeting agenda.” Russell Township’s minor variance com- mittee came under OMLET review fol- lowing a complaint about notices of its meetings. The OMLET report noted that because of its makeup, the minor variance committee is a local board that is also sub- ject to the Municipal Act rules about in- camera sessions. The Ombudsman’s Office recommended that township council pass a procedures bylaw to provide public no- tice about board of variance meetings.
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
TORONTO | Two municipalities in Prescott-Russell received special men- tion in the Ontario Ombudman’s first re- port on “Sunshine Law” investigations. The City of Clarence-Rockland and Rus- sell Township each had one paragraph dedicated to them in the Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team (OMLET) report released to news media and the public on Oct. 30. The focus of the report is on violations of Ontario’s “Sunshine Law”, the provincial statute that concerns public complaints about secret meetings or dis- cussions by councils or council members that break the rules in the Municipal Act about topics that may be talked about in- camera, or behind closed doors, and those which must be debated and discussed during an open public meeting. Ombudsman André Marin noted in his report that most municipal councils in On- tario follow the rules of the Municipal Act very well. But others, he noted, have prob- lems either because some council mem- bers do not understand the legal restric- tions that apply to in-camera meetings or out of contempt for both the rules and the role of the Ombudsman’s Office. “Some (councils) are shockingly secre- tive, suspicious and resentful of the very idea they can be investigated,” Marin stat-
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LA CITÉ DE CLARENCE-ROCKLAND présente … THE CITY OF CLARENCE-ROCKLAND presents … Une soirée de partage An evening of sharing
CONCERT ANNUEL DE NOËL ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT
LE VENDREDI 23 novembre 2012 à19 h 15 Salle de spectacle Optimiste 1535, Avenue du Parc, Rockland FRIDAY November 23 th , 2012 at 7:15 p.m. Optimiste Performance Hall 1535 Du Parc Ave, Rockland
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ADMISSION – Les dons en espèces ou en nourriture pour LE CENTRE D’AIDE DE ROCKLAND et LA BANQUE ALIMENTAIRE DE BOURGET
Sunday, November 11 th , 2012 Citizens of Clarence-Rockland You are cordially invited to join The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 554 for it’s Remembrance Day Ceremony. The parade will start at the Ste-Trinité Church at 1:30 p.m. to proceed to the Cenotaph at the Clarence Rockland City Hall for the ceremony at 2:00 p.m. After the ceremony, there will be a light lunch served byThe Rockland Legion at Club Powers in the upstairs hall at 954 Giroux Street.
ADMISSION – Cash or food donations for the ROCKLAND HELP CENTER and BOURGET FOOD BANK
Merci à tous nos bénévoles / Thank you to all our volunteers Merci special à / Special thanks to: Don Jacobs, Gilles Chartrand & Gerry Methé
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