The Hamilton Police Services Board held a budget meeting on September 10, 2024, without informing the public or posting an agenda on the Board website.
It is the latest secret meeting by the Hamilton Police Services Board. Police Boards are exempt from the open meetings oversight of the Ontario Ombudsman.
Section 43(3) of the Community Safety and Policing Act states “meetings conducted by the police service board, or by a committee of the board, shall be open to the public.”
During the meeting, the Board debated the 2025 draft Hamilton Police budget. The draft budget has not been made public, this is also a contravention of the Community Safety and Policing Act.
There are no consequences for Police Boards that violate the Act.
This is the latest violation of open meeting laws by the Hamilton Police Services Board.
In February of this year, Hamilton Police Board Administrator Kristen Stevenson announced the Board was closing its budget meetings to the public. TPR challenged the ban, showing up in the meeting room on Tuesday, February 13 hours before the meeting and began broadcasting a livestream.
In September 2021, the Police Board held a secret emergency meeting to grant all Hamilton Police officers and employees the National Truth and Reconciliation Day as a statutory holiday. The Board refused to release the agenda.
In December 2021, TPR uncovered that the Hamilton Police Services Board was using GMail accounts to communicate. After TPR contacted Ontario’s Privacy Commission, the Police Board stated it will only use official accounts for public business.
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: September 23, 2024 Last updated: September 23, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version
There’s a typo. “It is the latest secret meeting by the Hamilton Police Services Board. Police Boards are except” should say “exempt” rather than “except”.