Accountability & Transparency

The County Clerk handles information requests related to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) (the "Act"). The Act addresses the security and privacy of records and providing access to information. The Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) sets out rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information (PHI). For more information, visit our Access to Information page.

We are committed to an open and transparent government process. Closed meetings protect confidential information. Our Closed Meeting Protocol follows the Municipal Act. It makes sure County Council does County business openly and transparently.

The province of Ontario, through the Municipal Act, 2001, defines when a council, local board or a committee is permitted to go into a closed meeting. Closed meetings are part of good government when these rules are honoured. The purpose of a closed meeting is for Council to receive information or give direction to staff on the following specific topics:

When is a Meeting Closed to the Public?

Permitted Reasons for Closed Meetings 

1. The security of the property of the municipality or local board;
2. Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees;
3. A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board;
4. Labour relations or employee negotiations;
5. Litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board;
6. Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose;
7. A matter in respect of which a council, board, committee or other body may hold a closed meeting under another act;
8. The meeting is held for the purposed of educating or training the members and at the meeting, no member discusses or otherwise deals with any matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the council, local board or committee.
9. 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;
10. 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;
11. 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; and
12. 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.

Also, a meeting shall be closed to the public if the subject matter relates to the consideration of a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act if the Council is the head of the institution for the purposes of the Act.

We are committed to an open and transparent government process. Closed meetings can only happen for limited, specific reasons. You can find this in the Municipal Act. The Ombudsman conducts investigations into complaints regarding meetings or parts of meetings that are closed to the public and determines compliance with the Municipal Act. 

Complaints Procedure

Please start the process at this website: https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/have-a-complaint

Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario

483 Bay Street
10th floor, South Tower
Toronto, ON M5G 2C9

• Toll-free (Ontario only): 1-800-263-1830

• Outside Ontario: 416-586-3300

• TTY (teletypewriter): 1-866-411-4211

• Fax: 416-586-3485

• Toll-free Fax: 416-586-3485

• Email: info@ombudsman.on.ca

Members of Council and local boards are required to submit a Declaration of Interest form whenever they make a declaration on an agenda item at a Committee, Council or local board meeting. 

The Province of Ontario provides that a Code of Conduct must be established for council and that an Integrity Commissioner shall be appointed by the Counties to perform, in an independent manner, the functions assigned by the Counties with respect to the application of the Code of Conduct and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The Integrity Commissioner is an independent and impartial position which reports directly to Counties Council and whose powers and duties are set out in the Municipal Act and the Public Inquiries Act.

Effective March 1, 2019, solicitor Tony Fleming of the firm Cunningham Swan was appointed as Integrity Commissioner for the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville for a period of five years. Mr. Fleming can be reached by email at tfleming@cswan.com

At the request of Council, the Integrity Commissioner will provide advice, education, and training regarding the Code of Conduct and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, and develop policies and procedures for his office as Integrity Commissioner. He will also be responsible for conducting investigations upon receipt of a Request for Investigation in respect of complaints and alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct, Municipal Conflict of Interest Act or other applicable ethics-related policies, rules or procedures.

It is within the authority of the Integrity Commissioner, and an expectation of this role, to recommend sanctions or further action following such investigations. He is also responsible for producing an annual report summarizing complaints, investigations, and recommendations for improvements to the Counties’ accountability process.

Informal Complaint

Any individual who believes a Member has violated the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act but prefers not to file a formal complaint may instead file an informal complaint. Individuals are encouraged to use this informal procedure as the first step to address problematic behaviour or apparent violations.

Informal complaints may be submitted by e-mail, telephone, regular mail or in person to:

County Clerk
25 Central Avenue West, Suite 100
Brockville, ON K6V 4N6
613-342-3840 X 2454
clerk@uclg.on.ca

Formal Complaint

Formal complaints should be submitted on the prescribed formal complaint form. The complainant must set out reasonable and probable grounds for the allegation that a Member or Members have contravened the Code of Conduct and/or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, the specific provisions of the Code or the Act to which the contravention is applied and any witnesses in support of the allegation.

Formal complaints will be filed with the County Clerk, who will forward the complaint to the Integrity Commissioner. It is the responsibility of the County Clerk to notify Council of the formal complaint and, if it pertains to allegations of contravention of the Code of Conduct or Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, other legislation, or other adopted complaint policies, without providing any further detail.

If the Integrity Commissioner is of the opinion that a complaint is vexatious or frivolous in nature, made not in good faith, or there were no or insufficient grounds for an investigation, he shall not investigate the matter or terminate the investigation if it is already underway. At any time during an investigation, if the Integrity Commissioner believes an informal resolution may be achieved between the complainant and the Member alleged to be in contravention, they may, at their discretion, undertake efforts to do so.

For more detailed information with respect to the Complaint Process, please refer to Appendix I of the Council Code of Conduct.

Formal complaints must be submitted in person to:

County Clerk
25 Central Avenue West, Suite 100
Brockville, ON K6V 4N6

The Office of the Ontario Ombudsman helps you when you are not satisfied with the services you have received from a municipality, and the municipality's response to your concerns.

Before you contact the Ombudsman's Office, when you have a complaint, contact the specific service area directly, either in person or by telephone at 613-342-3840. This conversation allows most issues to be resolved quickly. Our Staff Contact Listing will help you determine which area to contact.

If your conversation did not resolve your concerns, then you can contact the Ontario Ombudsman to help. You can contact them by telephone at 1-800-263-1830 and by email at info@ombudsman.on.ca.

The Ombudsman's Office independently receives, reviews and investigates your complaints. It updates investigation results and has an annual report of activities, which are available on their website.