Accountability and Transparency

The Town of Whitby is committed to accountability and transparency. Council has approved the following measures to ensure the operations of the Town are accountable and transparent.

Council Complaints

Council is required to follow a Code of Conduct that governs the actions of all Council members. If you identify or witness behaviour or activity by a member of Council that appears to be in contravention of the Council Code of Conduct or the Boards and Advisory Committees Code of Conduct, you can address your concerns by following these steps:

Advise the Member that their behaviour or activity appears to contravene the Code
Encourage the member to stop the behaviour or activity
If applicable, confirm to the member your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the response received to the concern identified
Keep a written record of the incidents including dates, times, location, other persons present and any other relevant information including steps taken to resolve the matter

If you are not satisfied with the response received after following these steps, you can proceed with a formal complaint through the Integrity Commissioner.

Integrity Commissioner

The Integrity Commissioner is an independent and impartial position that reports directly to Town Council and whose powers and duties are set out in the Municipal Act, 2001. Council has appointed Principles Integrity , as the Integrity Commissioner for the Town as stated in By-law # 7916-22.

Making a Formal Complaint

If you believe that a Council member has contravened the Code of Conduct, you can request the Integrity Commissioner to formally review the matter. Every complaint shall be made in writing on the Complaint Form, submitted to the Integrity Commissioner, and shall:

Set out the grounds for the belief and the contravention alleged
Be signed by an identifiable individual or authorized signing officer of an organization (note: the identity of the complainant will not be maintained in confidence);
Include the original or copy of any supporting documentation or other supporting material available to the complainant; and
Include the name and contact information of the complainant and any witness.

If upon review of the complaint, the Integrity Commissioner is of the opinion that the complaint is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith, or that there are insufficient grounds for an investigation, the Integrity Commissioner will not conduct an investigation and shall communicate this position in writing to the complainant and the member of Council identified in the formal complaint.

If at any time, following the receipt of a formal complaint or during the investigation process, the Integrity Commissioner believes that an opportunity to resolve the matter may be successfully pursued without a formal investigation and both the complainant and the member of Council agree, efforts may be made to achieve an informal resolution. If the Integrity Commissioner determines that a formal investigation is required, an investigation shall proceed, subject to the Integrity Commissioner's ability to elect to exercise the powers of a commissioner under the Public Inquiries Act.

Closed Meetings

Some Council meetings are closed to the public for limited and specific reasons that are publicly declared. A meeting or part of a meeting may be closed to the public in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001 if the subject matter refers to:

The security of property of the municipality or local board
Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including employees
A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land
Labour relations or employee negotiations
Litigation or potential litigation
Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege
A matter authorized by another provincial statute
Educating and training where no member discusses or deals with a matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the council or local board.
Information explicitly supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency of any of them.
A trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization.
A trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial or financial information that belongs to the municipality or local board and has monetary value or potential monetary value.
A position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.

Closed Meeting Investigations

What steps do I take if I have a concern?

Contact the Office of the Town Clerk to discuss your question or concern.
If you believe a meeting was closed to the public in a way that is not permitted by the Municipal Act, 2001 or the Town's Procedure By-law, fill out the Ontario Ombudsman Complaint Form.

The Town also maintains a Closed Meeting Policy that provides Staff and Members of Council with guidelines and information regarding the statutory requirements and best practices associated with Council and Committee meetings that may be closed to the public.

The Town of Whitby is committed to ensuring that any request for an investigation under Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, is dealt with in a fair, open, and expeditious manner. The Town commits to full co-operation including the provision of all information requested by the Closed Meeting Investigator, either written or through interviews, to assist the Investigator in the investigations.

In accordance with Section 239.2(11) of the Municipal Act, 2001, the Town of Whitby shall ensure that any reports received by the municipality from the Closed Meeting Investigator are made available to the public.

Municipal Ombudsman

In accordance with the Ombudsman Act and the Municipal Act, 2001, the Town of Whitby utilizes the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman for Ombudsman oversight.

The Office of the Ontario Ombudsman serves as an objective office, at arm's length from Council and the Administration, and will independently receive, review, and investigate complaints once all internal complaint processes have been exhausted in accordance with the Town's Public Complaint Policy.

Make a Complaint

As a member of the public, you must first follow the internal complaint processes prior to submitting a complaint to the Ombudsman. We recommend that you contact the individual department you dealt with first to resolve the issue. Following that, if you are not able to find a resolution, you may complete a Municipal Complaint Form so that an internal complaint process may take place to review your concerns as per the Public Complaint Policy. You can email clerk@whitby.ca should you wish to receive a copy of the Municipal Complaint Form.

If you aren't satisfied with the outcome of the internal complaint process, you may then file a complaint form with the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman through the Online Complaint Form.

You can contact the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman at 1.800.263.1830 and info@ombudsman.on.ca. For more information about the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman, please visit the Ombudsman Ontario Website.

Accountability and Transparency Policies and By-laws

We have various policies to ensure accountability and transparency of municipal government and its operations. The following policies and by-laws have been adopted by Council: