The Ontario Ombudsman says Timmins city council was in the wrong for calling an in-camera meeting in December.

An investigation into a December 19th, 2016 meeting revealed council contravened the Municipal Act and the city’s procedural by-law when discussing the Integrated Emergency Services Complex agreement with a Northern College representative in the room.

According to a public document released by Ombudsman Paul Dubé, council moved to a closed session under the “acquisition or disposition of land exception,” under subsection 239(2)(c) of the Municipal Act.

However, the Ombudsman states that having the college representative in the room disqualifies council from the exception.

“The rationale for the acquisition or disposition of land is to ensure that the municipality’s bargaining position is not divulged to the very party the municipality is dealing with,” the document stated, “Therefore, by having discussions in the presence of the party the municipality is negotiating with, the protection offered by the exception is eliminated.”

The negotiations involved entering into a land transaction agreement with Northern, and advanced to the point where city council considered approving the request.

Once city council entered the public session, they approved a $2-million dollar request to integrate the Whitney Fire Hall into the EMS Complex.

Full approval of the spending came after a heated discussion on February 13 and a 5-4 vote.

The document, however, does state a closed meeting would’ve been permitted in a different circumstance, such as a confidential staff agreement being presented to council communicating facts and options related to the acquisition of land from Northern College.

There are four recommendations coming from the Ombudsman’s office:

  • All members of council for the City of Timmins should be vigilant in adhering to their individual and collective
    obligation to ensure that council complies with its responsibilities under the Municipal Act, 2001 and its own procedure by-law.
  • The City of Timmins should ensure that no subject is discussed in closed session unless it clearly comes within one of the statutory exceptions to the open meeting requirements.
  • When discussing matters under the acquisition or disposition of land exception, the City of Timmins should ensure that the other party or its representatives are not present in the closed session.
  • The City of Timmins should ensure that its resolutions to proceed in camera provide a general description of the issue to be discussed in a way that maximizes the information available to the public while
    not undermining the reason for excluding the public.

This same report will likely be presented at Monday’s city council meeting.  CLICK HERE to view the full Ombudsman report.

Filed under: Local News, ombudsman, Timmins