Provincial changes to the law will soon allow residents to call for an investigation into whether municipal councils or boards are complying with the rules of the Municipal Act, 2001, regarding closing parts of meetings to the public.
These changes to the law, which come into effect on Jan. 1, 2008, were put in place by the provincial government to ensure all local governments act in an open and transparent manner. On Dec. 12, Mississauga Council appointed Local Authority Services Ltd., or LAS as they are more commonly known, to act as its Investigator. LAS is a subsidiary of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), a not-for-profit organization that represents the vast majority of Ontario’s municipalities.
Earlier this year, following the announcement of the changes to the legislation, LAS set up an Investigator Program for its member municipalities. This program will be used by the City of Mississauga, the Region of Peel and others to ensure compliance with the law, and guarantee that any complaint is handled by an independent and qualified review officer. In the case of Mississauga, all review officers will be experienced municipal lawyers.
The investigation request process will be quite simple. An individual will be required to file their written complaint in a sealed envelope with the City Clerk’s office. There is no charge for this. A person who files a complaint must provide their name and address so that they may be contacted by the investigator, if required. The sealed envelope will be forwarded to LAS, which will assign a review officer to the complaint. When an investigation is complete, a public report with the review officer’s recommendations will be brought forward to Mississauga Council and will be made public.
The LAS Investigator Program is expected to offer several benefits to the City and Mississauga residents. Most significantly, it is an arm's length relationship where complaints are forwarded in confidence to be investigated by trained and qualified review officers. The program also allows for consistency in the review standards used for investigations by experienced review officers, and efficiencies that would not otherwise be possible under other available options.
The LAS Investigator Program will launch in Mississauga on Jan. 1.
Mary Ellen Bench is City of Mississauga Solicitor.
