The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint about three meetings of the City of Belleville’s Cultural Exchange Committee and determined that because three of the Committee’s five members were members of council, the Committee was a committee of council under the Municipal Act, 2001 that was subject to the open meeting rules.
City of Belleville - June 29, 2026
Read the ReportThe Ombudsman reviewed a complaint about three meetings of the City of Belleville’s Cultural Exchange Committee and concluded that the Committee contravened the open meeting rules by failing to provide public notice of its meetings on February 15, 2022 and February 24, 2023. As a result, those meetings were effectively closed to the public, contrary to section 239(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001.
The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint that the meeting minutes of the City of Belleville’s Cultural Exchange Committee were not made publicly available. Although the Committee had already been formally dissolved, the Ombudsman noted that as a best practice, all committee minutes should be made available to members of the public to improve accountability and transparency.
The Ombudsman reviewed a complaint that a public information session held by the City of Belleville’s Cultural Exchange Committee sometime between February and October 2023 was an improperly closed meeting. The Ombudsman found that a quorum of Committee members was not present at the public information session and that any Committee or council members who were present did not materially advance the Committee’s business or decision-making.