The City of Stratford continues to review the process for holding in-camera meetings and will continue to make improvements to increase transparency and access by members of the public, city clerk Tatiana Dafoe said, after a specialist in municipal law determined that the city held numerous meetings improperly in closed session.
An 85-page report, available on the City of Stratford's website, investigated 56 in-camera meetings from Jan. 1 2020 to June 14, 2021, following a complaint from Get Concerned Stratford, a citizens group that requested an investigation.
In his review, investigator Tony Fleming, representing the law firm Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little & Bonham LLP, indicated confusion among city council and city staff in respect to the exceptions to open meeting rules. Fleming recommended staff and council seek and complete comprehensive training on the open meeting requirements and that training be regularly re-offered to incoming staff and council.
The Municipal Act permits investigators to provide recommendations from their findings, although they can't impose penalties.
Dafoe, who asked for emailed questions after a request for comment from StratfordToday, said the city previously committed to and has received training on in-camera meetings and it is developing a comprehensive council orientation program to provide the new city council with information needed to be successful in their role.
Stratford citizens are in the process of electing a mayor and 10 city councillors. Voting ends Monday night. Stratford will have a new mayor after Dan Mathieson decided not to seek another term. Candidates for mayor include councillors Martin Ritsma and Kathy Vassilakos and Robert Ritz, an architect, who is running in his first municipal election. There are 29 candidates running for 10 city councillor positions. Five incumbents are seeking re-election, so there will be at least five new city councillors elected tonight.
Andrew Sancton, a professor of political science at Western University and a municipal government authority, told StratfordToday that closed meetings are regularly investigated but could not recall a larger amount of meetings being reviewed all at once.
"They should have been aware of all this (requirements to go in camera) both from a staff and council side. I am not sure if (the investigator) interviewed the clerk and whether she did advise council about what to do. If the clerk did advise properly, she and her staff don’t need the training. If that advice wasn’t given, everyone needs the training."
Sancton said someone should have known procedure.
"Procedure should have been followed about stating what is happening and the motions."
Sancton said once you are in a closed meeting, it can be difficult for the mayor and/or the clerk to keep everyone on topic, as discussions can move away from the intended topic both in regular session and in-camera. ""But the mayor and clerk need to keep a close watch on that."
The report said the default rule for any meeting of municipal government is that it must be held in open session. Council may only hold discussions in closed session – known as “in camera”, from the Latin for “in chambers” – where an exception established by the Municipal Act applies. Open meetings are the default, and the exceptions are just that – exceptions, the report stated.
This is the second report that council has received about how and when city council goes in-camera and a number of changes were implemented after the first report was received and before the second one was sent to the city.
Dafoe said the city has made a number of changes to its process for holding closed sessions, including: providing a brief description of the agenda item to be considered at closed sessions in the resolution to adjourn to a closed session; ensuring the resolution to adjourn to a closed session is consistent with the resolution included on the agenda and if any amendments are required ensuring they are communicated and included in the resolution to adjourn to a closed session; ensuring that meeting agendas inform the public how they can observe a meeting. For committee of the whole open session meetings, members of the public are advised on the agenda that they can observe by viewing a livestream on the city’s Facebook page.
Fleming said one significant shortcoming – the motion adopted in open session – is corrected as a result of the previous report and commended the city for its efforts to incorporate the recommendations in that report.
Sharon Collingwood, a spokesperson for Get Concerned Stratford, said all the agenda items in all 56 reviewed meetings "illegally hid the nature of the discussions from the public." Twenty eight agenda items were illegally discussed in camera, she said, and should have been discussed in a public meeting.
Collingwood said her hope is the report is a starting point to improving city council's behaviour.
Dafoe said the the closed meeting investigation report will be listed for consideration at the next regular city council meeting, where council will consider a resolution stating how it intends to address the report.
