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 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:
If you are not satisfied with the response received after following these steps, you can proceed with a formal complaint through the 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 Guy W. Giorno, Partner with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, as the Integrity Commissioner for the Town as stated in By-law #7234-17.
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:
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.
Some Council meetings are closed to the public for limited and specific reasons that are publicly declared. You can request a closed meeting investigation to ensure the meeting followed the Closed Meeting Policy. The Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator Procedure is found under Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001.
Request a closed meeting investigation |
If you would like to request an investigation, we encourage you to discuss your concerns or inquiries with the Town Clerk before submitting a request. Complete the Closed Meeting Investigation Request form. Please note that the Town and Investigator will treat your identity as confidential, unless authorization is given by you. What to include in the complaintAll complaints must contain the following information:
Investigation processOnce the request is received by the Town Clerk, the Clerk will enact the following procedures:
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Closed meeting investigation process |
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 Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator, either written or through interviews, to assist the Municipal 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. |
About the closed meeting investigator |
Through By-law 6040-08, the Town of Whitby has contracted Local Authority Services Limited (LAS) to provide closed meeting investigator services. LAS has delegated their authority to Aird & Berlis LLP to act as the Town's Closed Meeting Investigator and to conduct investigations upon receipt of a complaint in respect of meetings or part of meetings that are closed to the public to determine compliance with the Municipal Act and to report on the results of such investigations. |
Council has appointed ADR Chambers Inc. as the Ombudsman for the Town of Whitby as outlined in By-law #7212-16.
The Ombudsman will serve 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. The Ombudsman will provide periodic updates on any investigations and will produce annual reports to be presented to Council.
As members 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.
If you aren't satisfied with the outcome of the internal complaint process, you may then file a complaint form with the Town's Ombudsman.
You can contact the ADR Chambers Ombuds Office at 1.866.876.8793 and ombudsman@adr.ca. Complaint forms regarding a matter with the Town of Whitby can be found at ADR Chambers Ombuds Office.
Annual reports |
The following annual reports are from the ADR Chambers Ombuds Office for the Town of Whitby:
Contact us for a copy of the reports. |
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:
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