LAS investigator program
LAS | AMO BUSINESS SERVICES
Helping Municipalities deal with closed meeting investigations
For more information, please contact:
Eleonore Schneider, LAS Program Manager
Local Authority Services
Phone: 416-971-9856 ext. 320 Toll Free: 1-877-426-6527
eschneider@amo.on.ca
Procedure By-law
The Municipal Act, 2001 provides that every municipality and local board in Ontario is mandated to enact a bylaw to govern the calling, location and proceedings of their meetings under s.238.
Open Meeting Rule
All municipal council meetings, a local board, or a committee of either of them must be held in an open public session unless an exception applies pursuant to s.239(1).
Exceptions for Closed Meetings
The Municipal Act, 2001 sets out a number of exceptions to the open meeting rule based on the subject matter of the item that the council, local board, or committee is considering (ss.239(2), (3) and (3.1)). Council, local board, or committee must follow certain procedural requirements prior to convening into a closed session.
Investigations
Since 2008, s.239.1(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001 has allowed any person to request that an investigation be conducted to determine whether a municipality or local board has complied with s.239, or a procedure bylaw passed under s.238.
Investigator
Municipalities are authorized to appoint an independent investigator to conduct what has become known as a “closed meeting investigation” under s.239.2. In appointing an investigator, the municipality is to consider the following matters:
the investigator’s independence and impartiality
confidentiality with respect to the investigator’s activities
the credibility of the investigative process
If a municipality does not appoint an investigator, the default investigator is the Ontario Ombudsman.
Investigator’s Powers
An investigator is given significant powers to carry out its investigation, including the powers set out in s.19 of the Ombudsman Act which include the authority to summons any person and examine them under oath, and to require any officer, employee or member of a municipality to provide such information and to produce such documents or things that the investigator requires.
The investigator operates under a duty of confidentiality but is entitled to disclose such matters as they consider appropriate in any report.
No Challenge
The investigator’s powers are paramount and its proceedings cannot be challenged, except for lack of jurisdiction, and no decision or report from the investigator can be challenged, reviewed, quashed or called into question in any court.
Reports
If the investigator determines that there has been a contravention of the procedure bylaw or s.239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, a report will be provided to the municipality or local board and the council or the local board are required to pass a resolution stating how they intend to address the report. The report is required to be made publicly available.
Why Appoint LAS as Investigator?
LAS offers closed meeting investigation services as it complements our programming. This service will assist municipalities in demonstrating they are responsible and accountable orders of government, capable of managing their own business and affairs.
As part of the program, LAS will provide an educational component to help municipalities in the understanding of the opening meeting rule, its exceptions, and the investigative process.
The LAS Program Will Ensure:
municipal transparency and accountability
independent, impartial and credible investigations and reports
Benefits to Participating Municipalities:
experienced, knowledgeable and qualified investigators
access to all completed reports via a secure website
availability of ongoing education/information
no review by provincial Ombudsman
