South Algonquin Matters is restoring public access to Council and committee meeting recordings that were previously broadcast publicly by the Township of South Algonquin.
How we got here
South Algonquin has recorded public meetings for years. In 2019, Council adopted By-law 19-590 which is an Audio Recording Policy, which provided that recordings would remain publicly available for at least one year.
In practice, recordings had remained publicly available for years after being posted.
Several years later, following complaints filed with the Township’s Integrity Commissioner, meeting recordings were suddenly removed from public access when the township adopted the practice of removing recordings once draft minutes had been prepared and posted.
Recording Removals Under Ombudsman Review
The removal of recordings also became the subject of complaints to the Ontario Ombudsman. Those complaints questioned, among other things, whether removing recordings was consistent with the Township’s existing recording policy. Those matters remain under review by the Ombudsman.
Less Access, Less Coverage
The shortened availability of recordings also affected access for local news reporting. Reporters covering several rural municipalities cannot always attend South Algonquin meetings live. Without an archived recording, they cannot return to a meeting later to report on its proceedings. By June 2026, Council was openly discussing both the disappearance of local newspaper coverage and concerns raised about reporters about being unable to access meeting recordings after they were removed.
Council Chose 48 Hours. We’re Building an Archive.
Council reconsidered the retention period on June 17, 2026. During that discussion, staff explained that draft minutes could be completed before the end of the meeting day, meaning a recording could be removed that same afternoon.
Council discussed keeping recordings available for a week but ultimately chose approximately 48 hours: a Wednesday meeting would remain online until noon Friday.
That’s longer. It still isn’t an archive.
So we’re building one.
If a Council decision affects you a year from now shouldn’t you still be able to see how it was made?
Why this matters
The approved minutes are the Township’s official record. Recordings serve a different purpose.
Minutes tell us what Council decided. Recordings preserve how Council got there — the questions asked, explanations given, information provided by staff, counterpoints raised, and the discussion leading to a decision. Sometimes they also provide important detail about who supported or opposed a particular course of action. Together, they provide residents and journalists with a much fuller picture of municipal decision-making.
Time matters too. The significance of a discussion isn’t always obvious when it happens. An issue may become important six months or three years later. Residents, journalists and researchers should be able to go back and understand what was said, what information was available, and how a decision developed. You shouldn’t have to know within 48 hours that a discussion will matter later.
Removing meeting recordings is not a neutral decision—it reduces transparency and limits the ability of residents, oversight bodies and journalists to understand and scrutinize Council’s processes and decisions. It also creates accessibility barriers for people with disabilities and seniors who may miss the short viewing window because of medical appointments, travel or other care needs. Were these consequences simply overlooked, or was limiting access part of the purpose?
Over the past several years, many of these recordings were saved while they were publicly available. South Algonquin Matters has received copies of those files and is making them available again.
These were public meetings, publicly broadcast. Meaningful public access shouldn’t expire after 48 hours.
South Algonquin Matters will continue preserving publicly available recordings for as long as necessary.
But ultimately, a community organization shouldn’t have to do this. We call on the Council for the Township of South Algonquin to restore and maintain its own permanent archive of Council meeting recordings, and to enshrine that commitment in policy so that continued public access is the standard and does not depend on the decisions of any particular Council or administration.
Visit the new archive here:
