Closed Session Meetings: What the Law Allows

Municipal councils in Ontario can meet privately, but only for reasons the province has written into law. Understanding which reasons qualify — and what a council owes the public when it uses them — is one of the most useful things a resident can know about how their town works.

What is a closed session?

Open meetings are the default in Ontario. Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001 sets out the narrow list of subjects a council may discuss in private: litigation or potential litigation, advice subject to solicitor-client privilege, personal matters about an identifiable individual, the acquisition or disposition of land, labour relations and employee negotiations, and a handful of others. Everything outside that list belongs in public.

The rule is not a formality. A council must state by resolution, in open session, that it is going into closed session and the general nature of the matter to be discussed — so residents at least know the category, even when they cannot know the content.

How does Lakeshore use them?

Lakeshore’s annual reporting shows closed sessions used for litigation, legal advice, land, and personnel matters. That is the ordinary range for a growing municipality carrying active development files and legal proceedings, and no Ombudsman finding of an improperly closed meeting appears in the public record.

Where practice can improve

Legality and clarity are different standards. A resolution that names only the statutory category tells residents very little, and when a member declares a conflict inside a closed session, the public record rarely shows when they left the room and when they returned. Neither gap breaks any rule. Both are easy to close.

Why it matters

Open government is the default for a reason: it lets residents follow reasoning, not just outcomes. Every detail a council publishes voluntarily is one less thing residents have to take on faith — and confidence given freely is worth more than confidence assumed.

Where Sam Sinjari stands

Sam would keep as much business as possible in open session, publish the specific reason for every closed session rather than the bare statutory category, and record departure and return times whenever a member recuses. (Campaign position.)

Sources: Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, s. 239; Ontario Ombudsman guidance on open and closed meetings; Municipality of Lakeshore annual reports and meeting records. No finding of an improperly closed meeting has been made.