Council & Committee Meetings

Scheduled City Council, standing and reference committee meetings are livestreamed on the City's YouTube channel. Council and General Committee meetings also air/stream on Rogers TV.

View Meeting Agendas & Minutes

Meeting Frequency

Reference committee meetings generally occur monthly or as required depending on the business that is at hand for the committees to consider.
A schedule of these meetings is established with the Clerk and the Chairs. The Clerk in consultation with the Chairs will cancel or schedule extra meetings as required. Scheduled meetings are livestreamed on the City's YouTube channel.
Access Meeting Agendas, Dates & Times

Meeting Attendance Reports

Attendance reports detail the annual attendance for Council and General Committee, reference committee, and advisory committee meetings.

Meeting Agendas & Records

The City of Barrie’s Electronic Agenda Management System uses the Legislative Information Portal (Legistar). The City's goal is to provide the most current information on agenda items as they move their way through the legislative process. Legistar features:

full text search of legislation, staff reports, by-law status, dates, actions, and attachments.
calendar of City Council and Council Committee meetings, with agendas and action summaries attached.
records from 2002 to present for each meeting of City Council and General Committee, as well as the Circulation List (memorandums and correspondence). These records include agendas, minutes and other supporting documents.
information related to many other City committees.

Committees that do not report through City Council (such as Barrie Police Services Board, Barrie Public Library Board, Committee of Adjustment, and Property Standards Committee) are not listed on this site.

To view the City Council, General Committee, Circulation List and other Committee meetings calendar and obtain agendas, action summaries and minutes:
1. Go to the Legislative Information Portal
2. Click on the Calendar tab
3. Choose either list view or calendar view
4. Meetings for the current year will appear. If you would like to view a prior year, select the year you would like to view
5. When you see the meeting you would like to view, look to the right of the page and the available reports will be posted
Note: Meeting agendas are usually posted on the Friday prior to the meeting date.
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To conduct a simple or advanced search on a specific motion or topic:
1. Go to the Legislative Information Portal
2. Click on the Files Tab
3. Type the motion number (ie. 11-G-###) or any key words in the Search field (i.e. city parks)
4. Specify what year the motion/matter is from in the Date field or select All, then click Search Legislation
5. Once you have found the motion/matter, click on the File # link to go to the file
6. When you open the file, you will see Attachments listed. Select the attachment to download the file with the motion
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To view and print the history of a motion, which includes voting details:
1. Go to the Legislative Information Portal
2. Type in the complete motion number (ie. 10-G-xxx) or any key words
3. Specify what year the motion is from in the Date field or select All, then click Search Legislation
4. Once you have found the motion, click on the File # link to go to the file
5. On this page, you will see the Legislative History
If you require assistance please contact the Legislative and Court Services Offices (705) 739-4220 ext 5500 or email CityClerks@barrie.ca
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Closed Meetings

Generally, municipal councils, local boards and their committees hold their meetings in public. They meet behind closed doors on occasion to deal with some matters. The purpose of a closed meeting is to receive certain information or give direction.

Municipal governments in Ontario must be transparent and accountable. The provincial government has set the rules for a council, local board or a committee to go into a closed meeting. These rules are found in Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001.

In the City of Barrie, the meetings of the bodies to which this legislation applies includes City Council, General Committee, and Reference Committees and specific Advisory Committees.

A meeting or part of a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter is:
- The security of the property of the City;
- Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including City employees;
- A proposed or pending acquisition or disposal of land by the City;
- Labour relations or employee negotiations;
- Litigations or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals affecting the City;
- Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose;
- A matter in respect of which the Committee or Council may hold a closed meeting under another Act;
- Information explicitly supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency of any of them;
- A trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization;
- A trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial or financial information that belongs to the municipality or local board and has monetary value or potential monetary value; or
- A position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board. The security of property of the municipality or local board
- For educating and training where no member discusses or deals with a matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the council or local board
A meeting or part of a meeting must be closed to the public if the subject matter is related to a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act or it relates to an ongoing investigation respecting the municipality, a local board or a municipally-controlled corporation by the Ombudsman.
As of January 1, 2008 any person or corporation can request that an investigation be undertaken respecting whether a municipality or local board, or a committee of either, has complied with closed meeting rules outlined in the Municipal Act, 2001 or the applicable procedural by-law.
If you are concerned with a closed meeting, please follow these steps:
1. Contact the City Clerk's Office by e-mailing or calling CityClerks@barrie.ca or 705-739-4204 and see if they are able to answer your question or concern.
2. If you believe that the meeting was closed to the public in a way that is not permitted by the Municipal Act, 2001 and the City’s Procedural By-law, submit a written request for a meeting investigation as outlined below.
Request for Investigation Procedure
A request for investigation must be submitted on the established form. Copies of the form are available in the Legislative and Court Services Department (City Hall, 70 Collier Street). All requests must be submitted in a sealed envelope marked “PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL” and contain all of the following information:
1. Name of municipality
2. Your name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (if applicable)
3. Date of closed meeting under consideration
4. Nature and background of the particular occurrence
5. Any activities undertaken (if any) to resolve the concern
6. Any other relevant information
7. Your signature.
All requests shall be sealed in an envelope clearly marked “PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL” and submitted to the attention of the City Clerk as outlined below.
- In person: City Hall, 70 Collier Street, First Floor
- By mail: The Corporation of the City of Barrie, P.O. Box 400, Barrie, Ontario, L4M 4T5
All requests will be treated as confidential as required by law. Requests will be forwarded directly to LAS by the City Clerk. The City Clerk will provide the investigator with a certified copy of the meeting agenda, meeting minutes, the City’s Procedural By-law, notice, and a copy of other relevant information. LAS will only investigate issues referred to them by the municipality.
All requests must be received by the City Clerk within one (1) year of the date of the meeting to which the request is related.
Through Local Authority Services Limited (LAS), the City of Barrie has engaged the services of Amberley Gavel Ltd. as the Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator and has authorized it to conduct investigations upon receipt of a request for investigation regarding meetings or parts of meetings that are closed to the public. LAS was chosen so that independence, impartiality and credibility of the investigation are ensured. LAS is a subsidiary of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).
The investigator will determine compliance with the Municipal Act, 2001 or the City of Barrie’s Procedural By-law with respect to closed meetings and will report on the results of such investigations. During the investigation, the investigator may contact you for further information.
The investigator will only investigate meetings that were held on or after January 1, 2008.