Ombudsman singles out Hamilton for closed-door meetings

Ontario’s Ombudsman has singled out Hamilton in his latest report on transparency in municipal government for not recording its closed-door meetings.

Municipalities have to keep records of their closed meetings, and audio or video recordings are the best way to do that, said Andre Marin when he released the report Tuesday.

And while councils in places such as Tiny, Midland and Oshawa keep electronic records, Hamilton doesn’t, he said.

The city recently considered recording its closed meetings, Marin said. But council rejected the idea, citing concerns that councillors could be sued for statements during in-camera meetings.

“In fact, they are legally protected from claims of libel if their comments are made in good faith,” Marin said in a media release.

“I remain hopeful that more municipalities will embrace technology to record their meetings in the year ahead — and that ultimately it will become law.

Coun. Sam Merulla said he tried to introduce recording closed-door meetings, but to no avail. If elected to represent Ward 4 again, he'll reintroduce it next term.

The Ombudsman's report involves city legal staff, and is "a lawyer critiquing a lawyer," Merulla said, and "I think it's for lawyers to debate." But the city is a lot more transparent than 10 years ago, he said.

Mayor Bob Bratina is against recording in-camera meetings. Clerks take minutes of the meeting, so there's a record, he said. Recordings just "allow other people to participate."

If the issue came up again, "I’d like to hear the arguments," he said. "From the top of my head, based on what we’re dealing with now, I’d say no."