OMBUDSMANS OFFICE AND THE SUNSHINE LAW

The Provinces Sunshine law is a public complaints system to enforce the requirement that ALL municipal meetings be held in public. It was intoduced by Andre Marin the Ombudsman for Ontario.
Having now received the final report of my complaint against my municipality I would like to share part of the findings.
"The reason for the request is with regards to the refund of money charged to connect to another Municipal well for the property and whether this fee should have been charged under the circumstances"
Findings
"My review of the minutes indicate that there were 3 items discussed during the in camera meeting of July 20,2009. One of these items dealt with a report from the Municipal lawyer concerning an employment related litigation. A second matter dealt with the location of the proposed new firehall. The third matter of discussion involved a request from Ms. McTaggart to the municipality for the refund of $3500.00 previously paid for a water hook up. In my interview with Ms. Mctaggart she expressed concern that her request for reimbursement was discussed in closed session when it should not have been"
" The minutes of the closed session indicate discussion pertaining to the request of a refund. The Council was informed that the well in question was the property of the Ministry of Transportation and not the Municipality. Council agreed it would pass a resolution to deny the request" "That Council for the Municipality of North Perth dismissed the request to refund Municipal water connection fees as requested and that council directs the Director Finance/Treasurer to repond in writing"
Opinion of Gregory Stewart - Investigator
"The matter was clear and concise"
"It is my opinion as an investigator that the item concerning Ms.McTaggart's request for reimbursement of funds was not a matter that should have been considered and discussed in closed session. This request does not fall under any of the categories which outline matters for which discussion and debate can occur in closed session. The request for refund does not properly fall under security of the property of the municipality nor does it fall under the category of litigation. There had been no legal action by Ms.McTaggart with repect to the refund"
"The fact that a matter is controversial, or that discussing the matter in public may be awkward,does not justify discussing the matter in closed session"
This report has been made public by the Municipality and is now public knowledge that the Municipality does discuss things behind closed doors when they shouldn't. My issues with the Municipality have always been discussed behind closed doors which explains all the lies and why they have been able to get away with what they have. In future posts I will possibly discuss some of the issues in hopes that it may help someone else through the maze we call municipal politics. As a side note the contaminated well in question was never owned by the Ministry of Transportation and has always been owned by the Municipality. It has now been proven by the MTO.