Accountability, honesty, integrity, and openness were flung about council chambers during last night’s candidates’ forum—and these four words sum up the issues of this municipal election in Fort Frances.
For the past three years, Fort Frances council, and those in most of Rainy River District, have had as many secret (in-camera) meetings as regularly-scheduled ones.
Currently, the Municipal Act governing actions of councils only allows them to hold in-camera sessions to discuss the following items: the security of the property of the municipality or local board, personnel matters about an identifiable individual, a proposed or pending acquisition of disposition of land by the municipality or local board, labour relations or employee negotiations, litigation or potential litigation, and advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.
The legislation is undergoing review, and we believe some changes should be made to improve accountability.
Access to information should be available through Freedom of Information. However, a common practice of councils is to take no minutes.
We believe full and complete minutes of all in-camera meetings should be taken, and that under the Freedom of Information Act, a third party, independent of the municipality, should make the determination about whether actions taken in-camera followed the rules of the Municipal Act.
Having an employee of the community determine whether or not the meeting was held properly puts that employee in conflict with his/her employer.
Where those actions in “In-camera” meetings are found to be in violation of the provincial act, they would be made public and members of council in attendance at those meetings be fined.
We learned last evening that members of council were denied information regarding negotiations between First Nations and the Town of Fort Frances, and the province and the Town of Fort Frances. Council also has not received copies of the minutes of Rainycrest board meetings, to which the town of Fort Frances contributes more than $600,000 annually.
If councils cannot be privy to information concerning decisions that are being made about the community, where is the honesty, accountability, and openness that we expect.
The next council has a lot of work to do to improve its image. They must demonstrate that they are open to ideas, questions, and concerns of the community.
They also must do more in open council meetings and reduce the number of in-camera ones.
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