London city council will soon be making audio recordings of its closed-door meetings.
Councillors voted 8-4 in favour of the move to begin recording in-camera sessions, although the written minutes and reports prepared by the city clerk will remain the official record.
"We are recorded at every single one of our meetings. Every single one of our public meetings we are being recorded. If you've ever seen one of the more contentious debates, it doesn't change the way people express their opinions," said Councillor Maureen Cassidy. "I don't see a difference how any of the councillors conduct themselves in-camera versus how they conduct themselves in public."
Those opposed to the motion, councillors Paul Hubert, Anna Hopkins, Harold Usher, and Bill Armstrong, argued the recordings could be used in legal proceedings when it comes to personnel issues or labour relations. A staff report indicated, once created, the recordings could be accessed through the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
However, Cassidy noted the same could be said for the written reports prepared by the city clerk.
"There are written records, there are written reports that are sometimes prepared for these meetings, so there is really no big difference to me," said Cassidy. "People can request to a judge that we release these written records and there are criteria that prevent many, if not all, of those records from being released. So it would be the same with an audio recording. It's just a different way of recording the events that take place in-camera."
At least 17 other municipalities have implemented a similar recording practice for their closed-door meetings. The Ontario Ombudsman’s office, which investigates complaints about in-camera meetings, routinely recommends the recordings to assist with its investigation process.
Council has been investigated and cleared by the Ombudsman several times this term over allegations of improper closed-door sessions.
"If another of these Ombudsman investigations happens, it will allow us quite the easy mechanism for providing the proof to the Ombudsman that the reasons we went in-camera are proper," said Cassidy.
Council will begin recording its in-camera meetings within four to six weeks.
