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The provincial government has cautioned the Municipality of the County of Colchester about how frequently its council meets behind closed doors.
Municipal Affairs Minister John MacDonald sent a letter to the council in July. The province told CBC News in an email on Friday that concerns had been raised regarding Colchester council’s use of in-camera meetings.
“It has come to my attention that some of these meetings may not fully align with the established guidelines governing what matters are permitted to be discussed in camera,” the minister’s letter said.
Every regular Colchester council meeting over the past year has discussed at least one item requiring the public and most municipal staff to leave the room. The topics included property and legal matters, as well as operational discussions regarding the Rath Eastlink Community Centre.
Mayor Christine Blair defended the practice, saying confidential sessions allow members to speak more frankly on sensitive topics.
“I don’t know why that letter was written,” she said. “I have no idea where it came from because we are strict with our closed-session issues.”
Blair said she asked MacDonald for more details on his concerns.
MacDonald said his letter was intended to encourage the council to review current practices and that questions should be directed to the municipality’s legal adviser. He said the letter was not meant to constitute a finding that Colchester council violated the Municipal Government Act.
Colchester Mayor Christine Blair says she doesn’t understand why the province sent council a letter on its use of in-camera meetings. (Luke Ettinger/CBC)
The council’s reliance on closed sessions was on display Thursday night, when members met in camera for more than three hours to discuss a code of conduct complaint filed by Coun. Tim Johnson against Coun. Lisa Patton. Council had previously hired an external investigator to examine the matter.
Johnson told CBC News he filed the complaint in May about posts Patton made on Facebook regarding council decisions on the Rath Eastlink Community Centre and the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Complex.
Following the closed-door debate, council voted 8-2 to uphold the report’s findings and ordered Patton to write a formal letter of apology. Prior to the decision, Patton told reporters she had no plans to apologize.
Blair said if Patton refuses to apologize, the matter will return to the investigator.
The motion passed Thursday specified that the investigator’s report and all related evidence were to remain confidential. Municipal policy permits code of conduct complaints to be handled in either open or closed sessions.
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