The Council of the Corporation of the County of Elgin acknowledges that it is responsible to provide good government for its stakeholders in an accountable and transparent manner, guided by the following principles:
Accountability, transparency and openness are standards of good government that enhance public trust. They are achieved through the County of Elgin adopting measures ensuring, to the best of its ability, that all activities and services are undertaken utilizing a process that is open and accessible to its stakeholders. In addition, wherever possible, the County of Elgin will engage its stakeholders throughout its decision making process which will be open, visible and transparent to the public.
Through By-law No. 22-43 the municipality has appointed Aird & Berlis LLP as Integrity Commissioner, Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator, and Ombudsman and authorized him to conduct investigations upon receipt of a complaint. Elgin County encourages potential complainants to contact Meghan Cowan at mcowan@airdberlis.com or 416-865-4722 for a consultation in advance of submitting a formal complaint form.
Any person or a representative of an organization who has identified or witnessed behaviour or an activity by a member of Council that they believe is in contravention of the Council Code of Conduct (the “Code”) may wish to address the prohibited behaviour or activity themselves as follows:
All persons and organizations are encouraged to initially pursue this informal complaint procedure as a means of stopping and remedying a behaviour or activity that is prohibited by the Code. With the consent of the complaining individual or organization and the member, the Integrity Commissioner may be part of any informal process. However, it is not a precondition or a prerequisite that those complaining must pursue the informal complaint procedure before pursuing the Formal Complaint.
The County of Elgin shall ensure that Closed Meeting Investigation Request for investigations submitted under Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001 as amended (the Act) are dealt with in a fair, open and expeditious manner.
The County of Elgin shall provide the information requested by the Municipal Closed Session Investigator (Investigator), either written or through interviews, to assist the Municipal Investigator in his investigations.
The County of Elgin shall ensure any report received from the Investigator related to an investigation under the Act, is placed on a public agenda and that consideration of such reports is conducted in an open public session of Council.
Please consult the Procedure for Municipal Closed Meeting Investigations before submitting a request for an investigation through the Municipal Investigation Complaint Form.
Elgin County strives to deliver responsive, accessible and quality customer service to all of its citizens. In order to make complaints and compliments simple and easy please follow the compliments, feedback and complaints procedure.
If the matter remains unresolved, then the complaint may be forwarded to the Municipal Ombudsman by filling out the Personnel Complaint/Compliment Form.
The County of Elgin is committed to public transparency and accountability under the terms of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). MFIPPA establishes a general right of access to records created and maintained by the County under the following guiding principles:
Full MFIPPA Guidelines and Procedure for filing a request under MFIPPA can be found in the Elgin County Access to Information and Privacy Policy. Click here for the application form.
Councillor Martyn – January 12, 2021
Councillor Martyn – August 10, 2021
Councillor Martyn – September 14, 2021
Councillor Martyn – November 9, 2021
Councillor Martyn – December 9, 2021
Councillor Martyn – June 28, 2022
Councillor Martyn – September 27, 2022
Councillor Martyn – October 11, 2022
Councillor Jones – November 8, 2022