Not enough members of Hamilton City Council attended today’s (June 23) scheduled meetings, causing both the Hamilton Utilities Corporation Shareholder meeting and the Hamilton Enterprises Holding Corporation Shareholder meeting to begin without quorum.
Only four councillors were on-time at City Hall, with another four logged in via video conference.
“At this time we are waiting for quorum. At this time we will come back in fifteen minutes if we do not have quorum, we will adjourn today’s meeting,” Ward 2 Councillor Cameron Kroetsch stated at 9:30 a.m. when the Hamilton Utilities Corporation Shareholder meeting was called to order.
In Council Chambers were Kroetsch, Tammy Hwang, Brad Clark, and Ted McMeekin. Online were Matt Francis, Esther Pauls, Jeff Beattie, and Craig Cassar.
After waiting 15 minutes, in the hope that one of the seven other council members would login by video, the meeting was adjourned due to lack of quorum.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have quorum so we are adjourning today’s meeting,” Kroetsch stated at 9:45 a.m.
Council then attempted to proceed with the second scheduled meeting.
Hamilton Enterprises Holding Corporation Shareholder meeting was called to order at 9:50 a.m.
Once again, quorum was not present.
“We are waiting for quorum for our meeting,” Kroetsch stated.
Efforts continued to find another council member to join the meeting.
Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson logged into the video conference. The meeting business began at 10:00 a.m.
However, quorum was not maintained during the meeting.
Due to the long-standing issued issues with council members not attending meetings, the City of Hamilton no longer requires the presence of a quorum except for voting.
At 10:42 a.m. the bare minimum nine council members needed to pass resolutions were present.
Following this, the meeting was adjourned.
Decreased Meetings in 2025: Yet Quorum Remains An Issue
Quorum issues and cancelled meetings are becoming more common in 2025. This despite a decrease in meetings this year.
Beginning in January this year, City Council decreased their meeting schedule by nearly 25 percent. Under the new calendar, there are no council meetings during 18 weeks this year.
This includes a 32-day vacation block that begins in August and continues until the second week of September.
Whereas nearly every workplace, organization, and schools return from summer the day after Labour Day, September 2nd this year, the City of Hamilton will remain on summer shutdown until September 7.
2025 Quorum Issues Thus Far
Even with the flexibility of opening a laptop to attend meetings, City Council has struggled with quorum issues throughout 2025.
City Council failed to make quorum to begin the January 20 public budget delegations meeting on time, and struggled with quorum for the entire meeting.
The January 21 CityHousing Hamilton Board meeting failed to make quorum and was cancelled.
Only one councillor attended the February 18 Waste Sub-Committee meeting. The meeting was cancelled.
On March 3, Council began late. They made minimum quorum to approve the 2023 CityHousing financial statements.
On May 20, the Public Health Sub-Committee failed to reach quorum. The meeting was cancelled. On May 21, only seven council members were on time for Council’s general issues committee meeting. Quorum was eventually reached.
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Published: June 23, 2025
Last updated: June 23, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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