The Ontario ombudsman is making London councillors sign a confidentiality agreement and fax it back to his office before they can see a copy of his draft report on a restaurant gathering.
Six councillors and the mayor were at Billy T’s Tap and Grill in February and that sparked complaints to the ombudsman, Andre Marin.
The ombudsman was investigating to see if council business was discussed, as it would violate the Municipal Act.
With his report finally ready, there was anticipation Friday that councillors and the public would get some answers.
But Marin's office says the draft report must be kept confidential so councillors can provide their own comments before a final version is released to the public.
A disappointed Mayor Joe Fontana wants the report made public as quickly as possible to answer lingering questions.
“This has gone on now for months. All of us want to see what the ombudsman has to say.”
The delay came as a surprise to many as there was a Marin Tweet on Thursday stating that the draft report would be released Friday.
Now that the deadline has passed with no report, Councillor Stephen Orser says it’s another reason to question the performance of the ombudsman as the city's closed meeting investigator.
“It doesn’t surprise me that we get this wrinkle instead of the report,” Orser says.
