It happens at nearly every council or committee meeting. The session adjourns and councillors go into a closed session to discuss what is loosely described as a personnel or legal matter.

It has often been the complaint of many that too many discussions and “deals” are happening behind closed doors. And while we can only assume that our municipal representatives are operating within the confines of the Municipal Act when it comes to these meetings, whenever we hear the words “closed session,” oftentimes they are perceived as a way to skirt the open, public process. And as any politician should know, the word perception carries much clout.

However, the public will soon have a new weapon in its arsenal to voice their concerns.

Under the new Municipal Act, as of Jan. 1, there are criteria to follow when a municipal council may hold a closed session meeting. It now requires municipalities to direct public complaints or objections over closed session meetings to either Ontario’s ombudsman or a council-appointed investigator to probe. It also requires minutes to be taken at these meetings.

This new legislation aims to ensure that only the matters that are deemed appropriate for a closed session are handled that way.

While there was much discussion around the council table Monday night, councillors should have nothing to fear, if indeed they are handling these matters correctly.

Councillor Graydon Smith’s comment about some members of the public abusing their newfound right does have some merit, but to think that this new process will “lead to more trouble than it will solve,” leads us to wonder. Does he mean more trouble for the public, the investigator, or perhaps our local councils?

And while this new power to investigate may seem like the answer to a long-standing problem with transparency, the old adage ‘If it’s too good to be true, it probably is’ pops into mind.

For this process to even get underway, our councillors must first select who they wish to investigate these matters.

And while the intention of this new legislation is clear, for the public to have some confidence in the process, our municipal councils should not be the ones to choose who will do the investigating.

If the whole premise behind this new section of the Municipal Act is to ensure transparency in closed session dealings, then to have a council-appointed investigator look into these matters is simply giving the public another false perception.

KF