Who do I contact for an interview related to a City staff report coming to Council or a Committee?
To ensure transparency and accountability, the City of Hamilton Clerks staff publish the meeting agendas, which include staff reports and presentations for the public’s review, at least 5 days prior to the scheduled Committee and Council meetings.
Council and Committee Members will consider, discuss, ask questions and vote on Staff reports and recommendations as part of Council and Committee meetings. As a result, City staff, through the Media Relations team, are available to answer questions focused on clarifying any facts within a staff report prior to the scheduled date. However, any additional comment from staff would need to occur following Council and Committee meetings. This ensures that Council and Committee Members are able to exercise their rightful privilege as elected/appointed Members.
Access staff reports at www.hamilton.ca/meetingagendas
How do I find Council and Committee reports?
The meeting and agendas listing is available at www.hamilton.ca/meetingagendas
Reports and presentation files can be found by:
- Clicking on the HTML version of the specific meeting agenda, or
- Using the site search bar and filtering options and/or quotes in the query on the agenda management software tool https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings.com
To access Council and Committee agendas, staff reports and video from past meetings, click on the Past Meetings/Archives tab.
There’s a report I’m looking for, but can’t find it on the Agenda for the Committee Meeting or Council?
Ultimately, all items to be considered at a meeting will be included in the ‘Merged Agenda’, which is the ‘Original Agenda’ and ‘Addendum’. Items that include the note ‘to be distributed’ beside the title will be uploaded prior to the meeting.
In some circumstances, Members of Council may decide during a meeting to present a Notice of Motion on a matter that may have not been submitted in advance, in this case, Clerks will upload the information immediately following the conclusion of the meeting.
Why do I need to file a Freedom of Information request?
Not all government-held information may be freely available to the public.
While The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act gives individuals the right to request access to government-held information, including general records and records containing their own personal information, it also requires that municipalities protect the privacy of an individual’s personal information existing in government records and may deny access if information affects the interests of someone other than the requester.
Determine if the information you’re looking for is subject to The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The Act sets out mandatory and discretionary exemptions to access. Learn more about Ontario’s Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
How do I file a Freedom of Information request?
File a Freedom of Information Request
