Open Government

The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, as amended Section 5.1 states at a meeting at which a member discloses an interest under Section 5 of the Act, or as soon as possible afterwards, the member shall file a written statement of the interest and its general nature. And Section 6 (1) of the Act states every declaration of interest and the general nature thereof made under Section 5 shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting by the Clerk. This has been and is the practice of Seguin Township Council.

On March 1, 2019, the day named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, the Act is amended by adding the following section:

Registry
Requirement to establish registry
6.1 (1) Every municipality and local board shall establish and maintain a registry in which shall be kept,
(a) a copy of each statement filed under section 5.1; and
(b) a copy of each declaration recorded under section 6.

Access to registry
(2) The registry shall be available for public inspection in the manner and during the time that the municipality or local board, as the case may be, may determine.

As the Act requires as of March 1, 2019 a registry to be kept and made available to the public, the Township of Cramahe has begun a registry as of January, 2018.

Special Council Meeting February 18, 2025

Councillor Sherry Hamilton - 6.a. Site Plan Amendment to Change the Hours of Operation for the Existing Gravel Pit

Committee of Adjustment February 27, 2024

Member Ed Van Egmond - Hearing Item 8. Request for Validation Certificate

Committee of the Whole - April 9, 2024

Deputy Mayor Sandra - Item 10.a.a. Housing Enabling Water System Funding Application

Council April 30, 2024

Deputy Mayor Sandra Arthur - Item 9.a.a Housing Enabling Water System Funding Application

Council -  May 28 2024

Deputy Mayor Arthur - Item 16. Closed Session

Committee of the Whole - September 10, 2024

Member Sherry Hamilton - Item 16.c.a.

Committee of Adjustment November 28, 2023

Member Ed Van Egmond - Hearing Item 6. D10-HOF-02-23

Committee of Adjustment October 24, 2023
Member Joel Schriver - Hearing D10-FID-27&28-22 at 136 Colton Street

Committee of the Whole Meeting March 15th, 2022

Councillor Ed Van Egmond - BL-2022-18 Livestock Valuer and Pound Keeper

Deputy Mayor Sandra Arthur -PLAN-65-22 Abundant Solar Energy Inc. Request for Municipal Support

Enhancements were made to the Township’s Procedural By-law and Closed Meeting Protocol Policy in order to improve overall compliance with statutory requirements and implement best practices with respect to Council and committee meeting procedures. Many of the services provided by the Office of the Clerk are legislated, which include but are not limited to, the Municipal Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), Planning Act, and the Municipal Elections Act. Compliance is a legal requirement under these statutes, and as such, non-compliance exposes the municipality to liability and risk. Risks would also be posed to broader information initiatives involved in transparency and accountability, including Freedom of Information (FOI), Routine Disclosure, and Open Government programs. 

Ground work has begun in order to support the development of a Corporate Records & Information Management program for the Township. This multi-year project will commence with a Township wide records inventory assessment which will focus on documenting records holdings and practices. This data will be used to inform the development of a strategy designed to implement a corporate program focused on better securing information assets, making them more accessible and increasing the overall efficiency with which stakeholders create and share information. Full scoping and project planning began in early February 2020, following the implementation of the Records Retention By-law and will continue with an inventory assessment in the fall. The Office of the Clerk is looking for options on the use of an Electronic Document & Records Management System (EDRMS) to evaluate new and existing tools. An EDRMS will ensure that Township records are stored and managed in the most efficient and accessible way. Records Management is new to the Township and there is little to no data available from previous years. The subsequent year, 2021, will serve as a benchmark in relation performance reporting.

Initial work to undertake a comprehensive Privacy Management Program for the Township began in the Winter of 2020. Such a program provides an effective way for the Corporation to satisfy Council the public and regulators that the Township is in compliance with legislated requirements.  This project will be closely aligned with the RIM Program inventory assessment.  Performance reporting will be based on legislated compliance requirements with respect to records retention.  Under the Municipal Act and MFIPPA, the Township is required to have and maintain a records program, updated classification system, and to retain and dispose of Township records in a documented manner. The Ontario Municipal Records Management System (TOMRMS) is the municipal standard for records classification and retention which as part of the developing records program will be updated to meet the needs of the Township.  Metrics will relate to TOMRMS compliant destruction as defined by the number of destructions carried out in compliance with the most current TOMRMS retention schedule.

 Open government has to do with the relationship between public servants and citizens of a community. It is a critical step in modernizing services with citizens and businesses in mind. Luckily, the modernization of municipal service and information delivery through online content and communications has made this process much easier. The desired objective of open government is "governing with people" rather than "at people." This goal is achieved by building trust and accountability among citizens, elected officials and municipal administration. The four key principles that guide open government initiatives are participation, innovation, transparency, and accountability.  

At the Township of Cramahe our goal of governing with people rather than at people is important to us, so staff and Council are taking measures to ensure that the principles of participation, innovation, transparency and accountability are applied to all aspects of our operations.

The list below identifies certain actions that are aimed at helping us govern alongside residents in Cramahe:

• Multiple avenues of information dissemination, including social media, print media and web updates
• Providing opportunities for public input through Public Information Meetings and online and print surveys.
• Committee of the Whole, Council, and Virtual Town Hall meeting videos are posted on our Township of Cramahe YouTube page as soon as possible following meetings in order to make them more accessible to members of the community (please remember that using ear buds or external speakers to listen to these videos greatly enhances the audio quality).
• Following Council meetings, staff will prepare “Council Highlights,” which are intended to provide a snapshot of important items that were discussed in the previous meeting.
• Staff attempt to keep By-laws, Policies, and other information as up to date as possible on our website.

Staff have created this “Open Government Portal” with the goal of consolidating important information related to transparency and accountability with residents in mind.

The Ombudsman is an Officer of the Ontario Legislative Assembly who is independent of government and political parties. Our office promotes fairness, accountability and transparency in the public sector by resolving and investigating public complaints and systemic issues within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. The Ombudsman is appointed for a five-year renewable term and their powers and authorities are set out in the Ombudsman Act. To file a complaint with the Ombudsman, please complete the fillable complaint form and submit it to the mailing address or email found within the form.

Please visit our Integrity Commissioners page