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Accountability and Transparency

Home Regional GovernmentAccountability and Transparency

Durham Region values accountability and we strive to provide transparent government.

If you have any questions about the content in this section, please contact the Regional Clerk.

Access to Information

The Regional Clerk handles information requests related to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) (the "Act"). The Act addresses the security and privacy of records and providing access to information. The Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) sets out rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information (PHI). For more information, visit our Access to Information page.

Closed Meetings

Most committee meetings are open to the public, including:

Advisory committees
Ad-Hoc committees
Standing Committees
Committee of the Whole
Regional Council
Task force committees

Closed Meeting Protocol

Closed meetings protect confidential information. Our Closed Meeting Protocol provides best practices for Regional Council. It also applies to Standing Committees and Committee of the Whole. The protocol follows the Municipal Act. It makes sure Regional Council does Regional business openly and transparently.

Closed meetings investigations

We are committed to an open and transparent government process. Closed meetings can only happen for limited, specific reasons. You can find this in the Municipal Act. We have also developed a Closed Meeting Investigation Procedure.

If you feel the Region has not been transparent, you have the right to request an investigation. You can request an investigation by completing our Closed Meeting Complaint and Investigation Request form:

Closed Meeting Complaint and Investigation Request Form

The Region has appointed Local Authority Services Limited (LAS) - Aird & Berlis as the closed meeting investigator. They investigate complaints about closed meetings.

View By-law #80-2007 for more information.

Complaints

Should you wish to make a complaint about services that have been provided to you by the Region, please visit our complaint page.

Declarations of Interest Registry

Members of Council and local boards are required to submit a Declaration of Interest form whenever they make a declaration on an agenda item at a Committee, Council or local board meeting. The forms are available for viewing in our online registry.

Regional Policies

Legislative Services is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of these policies. If you have any questions please contact Clerks@durham.ca

Individual departments have unique standard operating practices and procedures.

The policies listed below have been authorized by Regional Council, please click on the links to view:

Accountability and Transparency Policy

Council and Staff Relations Policy

Council Pregnancy and Parental Leaves Policy

Community Investment Grant Policy

Computers Financing and Replacement Policy

Delegation Policy

Insurance Claims Basement Flooding Loan Program

Personal Information Privacy Policy

The following are Regional Administrative Policies that may be of interest to the public, please click on the links to view:
Council Appointments to Professional Associations Policy
Public Conduct Policy
Records Retention Schedule Policy

Accountability Officials

Integrity Commissioner

The Regional Municipality of Durham's Integrity Commissioner is responsible for:

Advising Regional Council members and members of the Region's local boards of their duties under the Council Code of Conduct and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
Telling the public about the Code of Conduct and Regional Council and local board members' roles under the Code.
Deciding whether to investigate complaints about Regional Council and local board members' conduct.
Making recommendations if there is an investigation.
Conducting inquiries into alleged contraventions of certain sections of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
Providing educational information to members of Council.

The Region's local boards include: the 9-1-1 Management Board, Development Charges Complaint Committee, Land Division Committee, and Durham Region Transit Commission.

The Integrity Commissioner produces annual reports which can be viewed below:

Integrity Commissioner Annual Report 2017

Integrity Commissioner Annual Report 2018

Integrity Commissioner Annual Reports 2019 and 2020

For Code of Conduct complaints or inquiries related to Council members or board members from one of our local area municipalities, please contact the specific area municipality for information on their Integrity Commissioner.

Making a complaint

Informal complaints

If you think a Regional Council member or member of a local board is not following the Code of Conduct, you can:

Tell them that you think their behaviour does not follow the Code.
Ask them to stop the behaviour.
Let them know if you are happy with how they handle your complaint.
Keep your own notes about events, including dates, times, locations, other people, and steps you took to fix the problem.

If you are unhappy with the result of your informal complaint, you can make a formal complaint to the Integrity Commissioner.

Formal complaints

If you think a Regional Council member or member of one of the Region's local boards has breached the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, you can make a formal complaint. Use the Council Code of Conduct Complaint Form or send an email to postoffice@principlesintegrity.org with the same information, to commence the process with the Region's Integrity Commissioner, Principles Integrity. With respect to conflict of interest matters, a further statutory declaration may be required – the Integrity Commissioner will advise.

You may contact Principles Integrity to inquire about the complaint process or with general questions about Council and local board members’ ethical responsibilities via email to postoffice@principlesintegrity.org or by telephone at 647-259-8697.

Municipal Ombudsman

The Office of the Ontario Ombudsman helps you when you are not satisfied with the services you have received from a municipality, and the municipality's response to your concerns.

Before you contact the Ombudsman's Office, try following our Corporate Complaint Handling Procedure. We may be able to help resolve your concerns. You can also report an issue with the Region.

If our complaint process did not solve your concerns, then you can contact the Ontario Ombudsman to help you. You can contact them by telephone at 1-800-263-1830 and email at info@ombudsman.on.ca .

The Ombudsman's Office independently receives, reviews and investigates your complaints. It updates investigation results and has an annual report of activities which can be viewed below: