Ontario's public meeting rules questioned by political scientist

A professor at the University of Western Ontariosaid confusion over public meeting rules is "completely crazy" andhindering the political process in city councils across the province.

In a new article, political scientist Andrew Sancton discussed how Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marinchanged the rules about what is considered an illegal council meeting, making regular council meetingsmorefrustrating for those involved.

"He has, in this case, himself, made up a definition," Sancton said of Marin's decision.

• Ombudsman won't look into Sudbury secrecy complaints

Fears of getting in trouble for meeting with councillors led to problemstwo years ago when Sudbury's mayor at the time, Marianne Matichuk, revealed the issue at hand was only discussed with councillors at the meeting.

"What is a mayor doing if they're not talking to councillors about business?" Sancton asked of thedysfunctional situation.

"If as a result of all this, councillors everywhere are never going to talk to each other, we can expect municipal meetings that are going to go on forever and a constant state of confusion," he said.

More recently, Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger admitted there was a lack of dialogue among politicians ahead of a chaotic meeting to revise contentious ward funds.

"I think it's reflective of I don't believe there's been a lot of conversation amongst councillors outside of council," the mayor said afterward.

Bigger wasn't available for an interview with CBC News, but said in a statement that he was following the Ombudsman's interpretation of therules regarding closed meetings.

TheOfficeof theOntario Ombudsman did notrespond to an interview request.