Council Meetings General Information

Notice of any Special Meetings of Council can be found at the bottom of this page and on the main landing page in the At a Glance area.

Meetings are held in the Council Chambers a 7 Third Avenue in Whitney. Meetings are also conducted electronically via Zoom meeting and live-streamed to YouTube. These meetings can be found further down the page.

Regular Council meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month at 9:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers, located at 7 Third Avenue in the Town of Whitney. Committee meetings are scheduled as needed and are generally the third Wednesday of the month at 9:00 a.m. Check the Township Calendar for dates.

Members of the public are welcome to attend and watch council meetings however only pre-registered delegates are permitted to speak or address council when it’s in session.

Food and drinks are not permitted in the Council Chambers. You may enter or leave the Council Chambers at any time except during the reading of a resolution or the casting of a vote.

Special Council Meetings

A Special Council meeting is a council meeting other than a regular meeting. Special Council meetings are open to the public, unless all or part of the meeting is closed by a vote of council.

In-camera (closed) Meetings

The Province of Ontario has established rules for a Council, local board or a committee to go into a closed meeting through the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, as amended. Any person or corporation may request that an investigation be undertaken respecting whether the closed meeting legislation has been contravened.

Why are some meetings closed to the public?

Municipal Councils, local boards and their committees must meet behind closed doors on occasion to deal with certain matters. For example, if a municipality is being sued or if Council is considering purchasing a piece of land or if Council must deal with a labour relations issue then it is appropriate that it be able to do so at a closed meeting. The purpose of such a closed meeting is to receive information or give direction.

Legality

Municipalities in Ontario must be transparent and accountable, as such, Municipal Act states that all meetings of Council shall be open to the public except where the subject matter being considered falls within one of the categories expressly set out in the statute. The permitted reasons for going into a closed meeting are as follows:

1. The security of the property of the municipality or local board;
2. Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees;
3. A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board;
4. Labour relations or employee negotiations;
5. Litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board;
6. Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose;
7. A matter authorized by another provincial statute;
8. If the subject matter relates to a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act;
9. The meeting is held for educating and training and no member discusses or deals with a matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision making of the Council, local board or committee.
10. Information explicitly supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency of any of them;
11. A trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization;
12. A trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial or financial information that belongs to the municipality or local board and has monetary value or potential monetary value; or
13. A position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.

Complaints about Closed Meetings

Complaints may be submitted through the complaint process as described on the Ontario Ombudsman’s website, or by phone, email, regular mail or in person. Please note that the Ontario Ombudsman does not accept complaints through Twitter, Facebook, or any other third-party platforms.

Contact information for the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario

Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario
483 Bay Street
10th floor, South Tower
Toronto, ON M5G 2C9

Toll-free (inside Ontario only): 1-800-263-1830
Outside Ontario: 416-586-3300
TTY (teletypewriter): 1-866-411-4211
Fax: 416-586-3485
Email: info@ombudsman.on.ca

Township of South Algonquin Contact Information

Township of South Algonquin
Attn: Bryan Martin, CAO/Clerk Treasurer

Phone: 613-637-2650 EXT 202
Cell: 613-334-5923
Email: clerk@southalgonquin.ca

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Ontario Ombudsman Website

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