In general, Council and committee meetings are open to the public. We encourage everyone to attend meetings or to watch the live stream video.

In some instances, the Municipal Act, 2001 allows the Municipality to hold a Closed Meeting when the subject matter relates to certain specific topics. For these meetings, the public are not allowed to attend and they are not broadcast. The purpose of these meetings is to get information or give direction to municipal staff or legal counsel.

Reasons for Closed Meetings

The permitted reasons for holding a closed meeting are:

  • The security of property of the municipality or local board
  • Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including employees
  • A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land
  • Labour relations or employee negotiations
  • Litigation or potential litigation
  • Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege
  • A matter authorized by another provincial statute
  • An on-going investigation by the Ombudsman
  • Education and training if no member discusses or deals with a matter in a way that material advances the business decision-making of the Council or local board
  • Information given to the Municipality in confidence by Canada, a province or territory, or a Crown agency
  • A trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information given in confidence to the municipality, which could interfere with the competitive position or contractual or other negotiations of the organization.

  • A trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial or financial information that belongs to the municipality and has monetary value

  • A position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations

Procedure

The Municipality can only hold closed meetings as per the rules set out in the Municipal Act, 2001. We must give notice of a closed meeting, including an outline of the business that will be discussed and the grounds under which a closed meeting is permitted.

Once a closed meeting session is over, the Council or committee must return to open session and report on the discussions that took place in the closed meeting.

In a closed meeting, Council may only discuss the specific matter outlined in the notice of meeting.

Make a Complaint 

If you believe that the Municipality held a closed meeting in contravention of the Municipal Act, you can request an investigation. If a Municipality does not appoint a closed meeting investigator, the Ontario Ombudsman will serve in that capacity.

If you have concerns, please discuss them with the Clerk by contacting:

Matt Smith
Clerk / Director of Legislative and Protective Services
msmith@meaford.ca
519-538-1060 Extension 1115

To make a formal complaint, please complete the Online Complaint Form and submit it to the Ontario Ombudsman:

Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario
Bell Trinity Square
483 Bay Street, 10th Floor, South Tower
Toronto, ON
M5G 2C9

1-800-263-1830
info@ombudsman.on.ca

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