Put Ombudsman André Marin in charge of probing all city back-room meetings

Let’s put Ontario Ombudsman André Marin in charge of investigating back-room municipal meetings and needless secrecy, not just for some cities, but for all

Toronto Star Editorial 

Fairness demands that public business be conducted in the open, for all to see, but some municipal councils still indulge in back-room meetings and unnecessary secrecy.

It doesn’t help that city politicians are allowed to choose who polices their alleged abuses and are able to switch investigators if they don’t like a particular finding. Furthermore, apart from bad publicity, there’s no punishment for violating Ontario’s “sunshine law,” designed to ensure open meetings at the municipal level.

This lax approach to curbing government secrecy is unhealthy for democracy. Indulging in hidden back-room deals should carry real consequences.

A fundamental reform would be to have one, impartial, well-respected authority investigate all allegations of needlessly closed municipal meetings. The logical office to do so is that of the Ontario Ombudsman. The office already delivers this service to 191 of the province’s 444 municipalities. And it provides necessary supervision at no cost to a city’s property taxpayers. That’s right — there’s no impact on city budgets.

Despite that saving, 253 municipal councils have opted to fund a separate investigator to probe complaints of undue secrecy. They’d rather not have the Ombudsman’s oversight. The Star’s Tim Alamenciak reports that most are covered through Local Authority Services, conveniently run by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. Sweet for them, not so much for local ratepayers.

Investigators working for Local Authority Services claim their probes reveal wrongdoing at a rate comparable to the Ombudsman’s office, so there’s no bias in favour of municipalities footing the bill. Even if that’s true, enforcement, interpretation and the financial cost of Ontario’s sunshine law should apply equally across the province, regardless of the municipality where someone lives. That’s only fair.

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin’s annual report into closed-door meetings, released last month, reveals several outrages. The worst occurred last February when six London city councillors and the mayor supposedly met by happenstance in the back room of a local eatery, called Billy T’s Tap and Grill, on a Saturday just days before a key budget vote. (Yes, it was literally a back-room meeting.)

Marin launched an aggressive investigation, including checking cellphone records, and reported that this was in fact an illegal closed-door session where city business was discussed. He was subsequently criticized for prying into a private “social” gathering. But Marin deserves congratulation for boldly defending the public’s interest.

Not only should his office be put in charge of investigating allegations of illegal secret meetings for every municipality across Ontario but the sunshine law should be given real teeth. Mayors and councillors guilty of breaking the rules should suffer some penalty beyond an embarrassing headline.

Democracy is best-served when effective protections are enforced by a fearless defender.

AWARE Simcoe coverage of this issue
Midland one of three Simcoe County municipalities to use Ombudsman  

Investigator faults Springwater for in-camera meeting

AWARE Simcoe suggests another look at closed meetings investigator