Council & Committee Meetings

• City Council Meetings

  Regular meetings of City Council are generally held every other Wednesday, except during July. Scheduled meetings are livestreamed on the City's YouTube channel. 

• General Committee Meetings

  Regular General Committee meetings occur every other Wednesday, alternating with Council meetings. Scheduled meetings are livestreamed on the City's YouTube channel. 

• Reference Committee Meetings

  Reference committee meetings generally occur monthly or as required depending on the business that is at hand for the committees to consider. 

  A schedule of these meetings is established with the Clerk and the Chairs. The Clerk in consultation with the Chairs will cancel or schedule extra meetings as required. Scheduled meetings are livestreamed on the City's YouTube channel. 

• Advisory Committee Meetings

  Advisory committee meetings generally occur monthly or as required depending on the business that is at hand for the committees to consider.

  A schedule of these meetings is established with the Clerk and the Chairs. The Clerk in consultation with the Chairs will cancel or schedule extra meetings as required. 

Closed Meetings

• Reasons for closed meetings

  A meeting or part of a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter is:

  • The security of the property of the City;
  • Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including City employees;
  • A proposed or pending acquisition or disposal of land by the City;
  • Labour relations or employee negotiations;
  • Litigations or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals affecting the City;
  • Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose;
  • A matter in respect of which the Committee or Council may hold a closed meeting under another Act;
  • 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;
  • 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;
  • 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; or 
  • 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. The security of property of the municipality or local board
  • For educating and training where no member discusses or deals with a matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the council or local board

  A meeting or part of a meeting must be closed to the public if the subject matter is related to a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act or it relates to an ongoing investigation respecting the municipality, a local board or a municipally-controlled corporation by the Ombudsman.

• Steps to take if you're concerned with a closed meeting

  As of January 1, 2008 any person or corporation can request that an investigation be undertaken respecting whether a municipality or local board, or a committee of either, has complied with closed meeting rules outlined in the Municipal Act, 2001 or the applicable procedural by-law.

  If you are concerned with a closed meeting, please follow these steps:

  1. Contact the City Clerk's Office by e-mailing or calling CityClerks@barrie.ca or 705-739-4204 and see if they are able to answer your question or concern.
  2. If you believe that the meeting was closed to the public in a way that is not permitted by the Municipal Act, 2001 and the City’s Procedural By-law, submit a written request for a meeting investigation as outlined below.

   
  Request for Investigation Procedure

  A request for investigation must be submitted on the established form. Copies of the form are available in the Legislative and Court Services Department (City Hall, 70 Collier Street). All requests must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked “PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL” and contain all of the following information:

  1. Name of municipality
  2. Your name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (if applicable)
  3. Date of closed meeting under consideration
  4. Nature and background of the particular occurrence
  5. Any activities undertaken (if any) to resolve the concern
  6. Any other relevant information
  7. Your signature.

   
  All requests shall be sealed in an envelope clearly marked “PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL” and submitted to the attention of the City Clerk as outlined below.

  • In person: City Hall, 70 Collier Street, First Floor
  • By mail: The Corporation of the City of Barrie, P.O. Box 400, Barrie, Ontario, L4M 4T5

   
  All requests will be treated as confidential as required by law. Requests will be forwarded directly to Local Authority Services Limited (LAS) by the City Clerk. The City Clerk will provide the investigator with a certified copy of the meeting agenda, meeting minutes, the City’s Procedural By-law, notice, and a copy of other relevant information. LAS will only investigate issues referred to them by the municipality.

  All requests must be received by the City Clerk within one year of the date of the meeting to which the request is related.

  Local Authority Services Limited (LAS) 

  The LAS is a closed-meeting investigator who provides professional independent services that ensure the independence, impartiality and credibility of the investigation. LAS is a subsidiary of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).

  The investigator will determine compliance with the Municipal Act, 2001 or the City of Barrie’s Procedural By-law with respect to closed meetings and will report on the results of such investigations. During the investigation, the investigator may contact you for further information.

  The investigator will only investigate meetings that were held on or after January 1, 2008.