Records requests
Some town records are only released when someone formally asks. Here is every request Council Watch has made, what was asked for, and what came back. Records we receive are posted here so anyone can read them.
How a records request works
- Ask. Anyone can ask the town for records under Ontario's access law (MFIPPA). A formal request costs $5.
- The town has 30 days to answer. It can take longer if it says why (a "time extension").
- It may send a fee estimate for staff time and copies before it does the work.
- It decides to release all, part or none of the records. Some things, like private personal information, are kept back by law.
- If the answer is no, or late, the decision can be appealed to Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner.
The requests
Housing Corporation and the Caradoc Place building
Asks for records about the Strathroy-Caradoc Housing Corporation and how the Caradoc Place apartment building in Mount Brydges was planned, built, paid for and run. Many of these records, such as the building contract, change orders, town loans and board minutes, are not public.
- Sent
- Acknowledged
- Decision made
- Records received
- Closed
Related reports: The town's housing corporation and Caradoc Place · How much the town owes and borrows · How Mayor Grantham used the powers of office
The 23 things asked for
| # | Records asked for | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The construction contract for Caradoc Place with Southside Construction (signed about June 2022), with its schedules, signature pages and any changes, and the agreements hiring Nicholson Sheffield Architects and Devonshire Consulting. The contract's price, holdback and warranty terms, and who signed it, are not public; the project was announced at about $10 million and recorded at about $11.6 million. | Jan 1, 2020 - Dec 31, 2025 | Requested |
| 2 | All change orders on the Caradoc Place contract, showing who asked for and signed each one, the architect's 21 progress payment certificates, and any rule or resolution saying who could approve them. Officials have said signed change orders went over the contract allowances; who signed them, and under what authority, is not public. | Jan 1, 2020 - Dec 31, 2024 | Requested |
| 3 | Records of how Southside and Nicholson Sheffield Architects were chosen for Caradoc Place, including any quotes, tender or decision not to tender, and the funding applications that name the builder or the cost. No public record shows a tender or the reason one was not held; BDO reported that the main contractors were sole-sourced. | Jan 1, 2020 - Dec 31, 2022 | Requested |
| 4 | Records of the end of construction: the substantial completion notice, the final payment, the holdback kept from each payment and when it was released, warranty papers, invoices for three large 2023-2024 payments to Southside, and 2025 letters about repairs. No public record shows the construction holdback or the final payment to the builder. | Jun 1, 2022 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 5 | The cost records for the whole building: the cost accounting mentioned at Council in February 2024, the 2023 project budget (about $12.3 million), cash-flow forecasts, cost reports from BTY Consultancy Group and Devonshire Consulting, any final cost reconciliation, and Southside's 2023 demand for about $2.3 million with any interest or late charges. The final cost (about $11.56 million) and the reasons it rose are not documented publicly. | Jan 1, 2020 - Dec 31, 2025 | Requested |
| 6 | Any report or draft from the Middlesex County Solicitor or other lawyers answering Council's February 20, 2024 requests about how Caradoc Place came about and its full cost, and records of why those two reports were taken off Council's list of outstanding reports. Council asked for both reports in February 2024; they were not delivered and later left Council's list without a recorded vote to remove them. | Oct 16, 2023 - Jul 31, 2025 | Requested |
| 7 | Any staff report or draft on repaying the town's $1.1 million and $2 million and on town services given to the corporation (bookkeeping, snow removal, lawn care), the value of those services in 2023-2025, the basis for the $630 a month property management fee for Parkview Manor, and why the item left the list in 2026. The report Council asked for was not delivered, and the value of the town's in-kind help to the corporation is not known. | Jan 1, 2023 - Jun 15, 2026 | Requested |
| 8 | Any signed loan agreement, note, repayment schedule or mortgage for the $1.1 million and $2.0 million the town advanced in 2023, the draft loan agreement, who prepared the two December 2023 payment schedules, the town's application to the Middlesex County loan program and the County's reply, and the 2025-2026 records on formalizing and repaying the loans. About $3.1 million is owed to the town, and the auditor (MNP) found no set repayment terms. | Jan 1, 2023 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 9 | The CMHC funding agreement and the First National mortgage commitment for Caradoc Place with their affordability terms and amendments, the CMHC insurance certificate, the registered mortgage, yearly affordability reports to the lender, and any calculation behind the $3 million penalty and $2.5 million grant repayment figures given to Council in December 2024. There is no written source for the figure of about $5.5 million to exit the mortgage and grant, and the affordability terms are not public. | Jan 1, 2021 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 10 | The signed town guarantee (By-law 18-23) of the corporation's $7,853,262.50 mortgage with Computershare Trust Company of Canada, and any record of when the guarantee reduces, ends or can be called. The town's guarantee of the mortgage is not shown in the town's or the corporation's audited statements. | Jan 1, 2023 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 11 | Records of the release of the $362,270 mortgage holdback (shown as $361,705 received in a February 2026 report): the lender's conditions, the release letter, the lawyer's trust statement, letters with First National or CMHC, and how the board planned to use the money. These records show when and how the holdback was released and how it is to be used; in April 2025 the Mayor proposed using it to repay the town's $2.0 million loan. | Jan 1, 2023 - Jun 30, 2026 | Requested |
| 12 | The full ledger of the Parkview Manor replacement reserve, every transfer between that reserve and other funds or the Caradoc Place project with the board approval, the detail of $145,611 in work in progress first recorded in 2022, and any reserve study. Reserve cash fell from $144,985 to $5,088 in 2022; these records show where the money went and who approved it. | Jan 1, 2021 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 13 | The corporation's by-laws in force from 2017 to June 2024 (and its original founding papers, if held), any 2023 conflict-of-interest policy or forms signed by directors, and every version of its purchasing policy before May 2026. The corporation's rules in those years on its reserve, conflicts of interest and buying services are not public. | Jan 1, 2017 - May 19, 2026 | Requested |
| 14 | Every property management agreement or memorandum with Tempo Development Corp. (Tempo Property Management) from December 2023 to May 2026, with signature pages, extensions and board approvals, the 2023 request for proposals and its results, the single-source search, any conflict-of-interest advice about a director becoming property manager, and replies to a director's requests for a copy of the agreement. A board member's firm became the property manager soon after quoting for the work; how the board approved the arrangement and how any conflict of interest was considered is not public. | Jul 1, 2023 - May 14, 2026 | Requested |
| 15 | Board and members' meeting minutes for July 2024 to September 2025 that are not posted online, including closed-session minutes with private parts removed, or a record that a listed meeting was not held. Minutes for this period were not posted, and at least two meetings have no minutes in the public record. | Jul 1, 2024 - Sep 30, 2025 | Requested |
| 16 | Caradoc Housing Corporation board and members' minutes from January 2020 to February 2023, the meeting packages where Caradoc Place, its builder, architect, consultant, financing or contract were discussed, and the closed-session minutes of late 2023. Decisions on the contract, the builder and the property manager were made at meetings whose minutes were never posted. | Jan 1, 2020 - Dec 31, 2023 | Requested |
| 17 | Records of how the town acted on Council's October 16, 2023 call for independent financial and project-management audits: the quote requests and replies, BDO Canada's engagement letters for 2024 and 2025, KPMG's 2025 proposal, and the CAO's 2025 inquiry to MNP and its reply. The independent project-management audit the board asked for in 2023 has not been reported as done; these records show how the request was handled. | Oct 16, 2023 - Jul 31, 2025 | Requested |
| 18 | Letters and emails between the town and BDO Canada about the second phase of the organizational review, including BDO's conflict-of-interest disclosure and its revised scope and fee. It is not public whether BDO's disclosed professional relationship was with the builder or with the wider Southside group. | Jan 1, 2025 - Jul 31, 2025 | Requested |
| 19 | Any documents the Mayor or a member of Council gave BDO Canada for the first phase of the organizational review, with the covering emails. The Mayor said he gave BDO documents about who signed what; those documents are not public. | Jun 1, 2024 - Apr 30, 2025 | Requested |
| 20 | The HST reconciliation and any MNP report on it, the corporation's February 2025 letter to the Canada Revenue Agency, its GST/HST returns and rebate claims since 2022 that are not already public, CRA letters about them, and the working papers behind the HST rebate figure shown to the board in September 2026. About $1.24 million in HST rebates was still owed to the corporation at Dec 31, 2025; if it is not paid, it adds to the building's cost. | Jan 1, 2022 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 21 | Records of the 2024 and 2025 searches for citizen and tenant directors: how many people applied for each seat (counts only, no names), how the applications were handled, and any written reasons for not appointing them and for the four-councillor board approved September 15, 2025. What happened to the applications, and the written reasons for a board made up only of councillors, are not public. | Sep 1, 2024 - Sep 30, 2025 | Requested |
| 22 | Resignation letters from directors of the corporation from December 2023 to December 2025, with personal details removed but keeping the date, the office and any stated reason about how the corporation is run. Three community directors left on Oct 1, 2024 with no stated reason. | Dec 1, 2023 - Dec 31, 2025 | Requested |
| 23 | Any appraisal or realtor's opinion of value for Caradoc Place or Parkview Manor obtained after October 2024, or a record that none was obtained. Shows whether the buildings were valued, which bears on any discussion of selling them. | Oct 1, 2024 - Dec 31, 2025 | Requested |
Records received
Nothing received yet.
What has happened
- October 25, 2026
Request 1 of 4 (form and letter) emailed to the Clerk.
Mount Brydges sewage plant: consultants, contracts and funding
Asks for records about the Mount Brydges sewage treatment plant: older site studies, work by consultants such as R.V. Anderson Associates, contracts, developer agreements and how the upgrade is being paid for. These records show how decisions on the plant were made and approved.
- Sent
- Acknowledged
- Decision made
- Records received
- Closed
Related reports: Mount Brydges sewage plant: costs, votes and lawsuit · How much the town owes and borrows
The 12 things asked for
| # | Records asked for | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Older studies of Mount Brydges sewage service: the 1996 Dillon Consulting environmental study with its appendices and Ministry comments, the 2006-2007 Stantec addendum, the 1998 Stanley Consulting and 1999 Stantec alternatives reports, Stantec's 2004 and 2005 cost and Strathroy pumping studies, and the 2008 Huber Environmental study. The 1996 study picked the closed landfill as the plant site; no public document explains why. | Jan 1, 1992 - Dec 31, 2009 | Requested |
| 2 | The consultant retainer agreements approved October 15, 2018 that name R.V. Anderson Associates (RVA), every work order issued to RVA under them, and any other RVA support agreement for the town's water or sewage plants. The 2018 retainer lets staff give RVA work without a separate Council vote; its terms are not public. | Jan 1, 2015 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 3 | A payment history for R.V. Anderson Associates from 2018 on, showing each payment's date, invoice, amount and the project or account it was charged to. Payment lists only went to Council from 2024, and most RVA payments say only 'Professional Services'. | Jan 1, 2018 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 4 | For each RVA engagement on Mount Brydges water or sewage work since 2015, the agreement or purchase order and every change order, fee increase or contingency use with who approved it, the authority for four 2024-2025 RVA consulting payments, and any record of RVA supervising plant operations. A 2024 Council motion said RVA had been supervising the operation of both sewage plants; no award for that work appears in the minutes. | Jan 1, 2015 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 5 | The town's purchasing rules in force from 2019 to November 2024 that are not already public, any existing list of sole-source purchases, and the written reasons and approvals for sole-source water and sewage engineering awards, including those to RVA and to Spriet Associates. Council voted 2-5 against a report on sole-source contracts on April 15, 2024, so these records are the way to see how such purchases were approved. | Jan 1, 2019 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 6 | Agreements, signed or in draft, with developers Sifton Properties (Forest View) and 1960726 Ontario Inc. (Westdell, Edgewood) on sewage capacity or cost-sharing, the town's records tracking how much Mount Brydges sewage capacity is allocated and left, and older capacity agreements from 2010 on. The Mayor has spoken of 'contractual obligations' to Sifton and Westdell; these records show what the agreements say about sewage capacity. | Jan 1, 2010 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 7 | Letters with River Birch about its 2023 offer and its January 2025 proposal, records of the 2025 failure and repair of the RBC #1 shaft at the plant (reports, work orders, invoices and any notice to the Ministry), and the staff report Council asked for on January 16, 2024 about a resident's presentation. Neighbours say these matters were not made public; they bear on whether a lower-cost repair was considered. | Jan 1, 2023 - Dec 31, 2025 | Requested |
| 8 | For the 2024 holding-tank contract with Finnbilt General Contracting: the request to delay the work, any change, cancellation or settlement, any claim by Finnbilt, the payment records behind four payments, where the equipment is now, and any update sent to the Ministry. The Ministry-approved short-term fix was paused with $539,795 paid, and Council voted in November 2024 to explore turning the contract into an equipment purchase. | Mar 1, 2024 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 9 | The Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund application, approval, grant agreement (up to $998,030) and loan agreement (up to $6,653,570) for the plant upgrade and the authority to sign them, the GrantMatch invoices for a $84,583.04 payment in January 2026, and the Province's decision on the town's 2024 Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund application. The loan (about $550,000 a year for 20 years) would be repaid by sewer users, but the agreement and the by-law approving it were not found. | Jun 1, 2023 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 10 | Records showing the authority to use $2,970,826.74 of federal Housing Accelerator Fund money for the plant upgrade, any letters with CMHC about that use, and the town's progress reports to CMHC since 2025. The $2.97 million appears only as a funding line in a 2025 staff report; no separate Council resolution was found. | Dec 1, 2024 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 11 | For the 2025 Mount Brydges sewage environmental assessment contract awarded to CIMA+: the price proposal and project team list, the scoring sheets, CIMA+'s conflict-of-interest declarations and any disclosure that a former town employee worked for it, the evaluators' declarations, the records staff relied on when advising Council in February 2026, and records of the $15,000 allowance for Napier-Reid Ltd. A February 2, 2026 Council motion stated that a former senior town employee worked for CIMA+ during the evaluation; these records show how the evaluation was done. | Jan 1, 2025 - Feb 28, 2026 | Requested |
| 12 | The town's replies to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks letter of June 27, 2025 about the Mount Brydges plant, and any later letters, inspections, orders or action plans with the Ministry. The Ministry warned of possible orders and enforcement; the town's reply is a main reason given for rebuilding the plant. | Jun 1, 2025 - the date of this request | Requested |
Records received
Nothing received yet.
What has happened
- October 25, 2026
Request 2 of 4 (form and letter) emailed to the Clerk.
Town lawsuits, legal costs and insurance claims
Asks for records about court and tribunal cases involving the town, what it pays outside lawyers, what its insurer covers, and what was done to recover money lost to a 2021 payment scam. The costs of these cases are not public.
- Sent
- Acknowledged
- Decision made
- Records received
- Closed
Related reports: Lawsuits against the town, 2022-2026 · Mount Brydges sewage plant: costs, votes and lawsuit
The 6 things asked for
| # | Records asked for | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Any existing list of court cases, appeals, tribunal cases and arbitrations involving the town or the Housing Corporation since November 15, 2022, and the current status of the town's 2022 court application against the Township of Adelaide Metcalfe. Council defeated a June 15, 2026 motion for a litigation status report; party names and file numbers of court cases are public information. | Nov 15, 2022 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 2 | Payment records or summaries showing how much the town paid outside law firms, including Lerners LLP and Siskinds LLP, for each case and each year since 2022. No dollar figure for legal costs on any named case is public. | Jan 1, 2022 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 3 | The insurer's letters on whether it covers the town's defence in four lawsuits (Township of Adelaide Metcalfe, Strathroy Fuels Inc., 2789234 Ontario Inc., and the neighbours' sewage plant case), and when each claim was reported. If a claim is not covered by insurance, legal bills and damages are paid by taxpayers or sewer ratepayers. | Dec 1, 2023 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 4 | Any reply from the town or its lawyers to the December 1, 2025 letter proposing a pause in the neighbours' lawsuit until the environmental assessment is done, and the part of the December 1, 2025 closed-session minutes recording any direction on it. Council approved the plant rebuild contracts the same night; whether the proposal got an answer is not public. | Dec 1, 2025 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 5 | Records of what the town did to get back more than $1.1 million paid in early 2021 on a fake payment request made to look like it came from Omega Contractors Inc., including insurance claims, claims against the bank, amounts recovered and reports on payment controls. The criminal case was stayed in 2024 and no recovery of the money has been reported. | Feb 1, 2021 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 6 | For each insurance-claim payment since 2023, the claim number and type of claim (such as slip and fall or vehicle), and the deductible in the town's current insurance policy. The 2024 insurance-claims line was $36,554 against a $20,600 budget; this shows how many claims the town pays below the deductible. | Jan 1, 2023 - the date of this request | Requested |
Records received
Nothing received yet.
What has happened
- October 25, 2026
Request 3 of 4 (form and letter) emailed to the Clerk.
Senior staff, fire department pay and accessible council meetings
Asks for records about senior staff contracts and departures, fire department changes and volunteer pay, a 2023 offer in the Adelaide Metcalfe dispute, and an audit of the Interim CAO's housing costs. It also asks whether council meetings work for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision.
- Sent
- Acknowledged
- Decision made
- Records received
- Closed
Related reports: How Mayor Grantham used the powers of office · The town's housing corporation and Caradoc Place · Lawsuits against the town, 2022-2026
The 9 things asked for
| # | Records asked for | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The signed employment contract of the Interim Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) appointed in February 2025 and every extension, including the one to December 2, 2026, with the terms on pay, benefits, housing, expenses and length, and the approvals. The extension is known only from a closed session and no amending by-law was found; the housing terms are not public. | Feb 1, 2025 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 2 | Any separation agreement and the 2025 payments that make up the $143,415.25 reported for the CAO whose job ended February 13, 2025, any separation payment to the CAO/Clerk who left in March 2023, and the costs of the 2023 CAO hiring. No cost of the February 2025 change of CAO has been reported. | Jan 1, 2023 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 3 | The fire services part of the 2024 StrategyCorp service review seen in closed session, and the records approving the March 2025 fire officer changes and the June 2025 hiring of the Fire Chief, showing who approved them and under what rule. No Council resolution or Mayoral Decision covering the March 2025 changes was found, so who approved them is not public. | Jul 1, 2024 - Jul 31, 2025 | Requested |
| 4 | The parts of closed-session minutes from June and July 2023 giving direction on an offer to the Township of Adelaide Metcalfe in the servicing dispute, any approval to make that offer public, and the offers sent to Adelaide Metcalfe between June 1 and August 8, 2023. The Mayor described the town's position in a TV interview on August 8, 2023; these records show what Council had directed and whether sharing it was authorized. | Jun 1, 2023 - Aug 31, 2023 | Requested |
| 5 | Records showing how volunteer firefighter pay is worked out for 2022 to 2026: the points schedule, the yearly payroll summary with total points and the dollar value of a point (no names), the 2026 rate, and any decision setting the rates. Without the point value, the public cannot tell whether the 2026 budget changed what firefighters are paid. | Jan 1, 2022 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 6 | Budget worksheets or notes explaining the 2026 increase in the fire stations' part-time wage lines, and the record setting the 28% benefit rate used from 2025. No public document explains the changes in these budget lines. | Jan 1, 2024 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 7 | Any accessibility request or complaint since November 15, 2022 about council meetings, their livestreams or recordings, captions or transcripts, or speakers who could not be heard, and the town's answer to each. These records show what accessibility requests the town has received about meetings and how it answered them. | Nov 15, 2022 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 8 | The contracts and quotes for meeting video, livestreaming, captioning, transcription and the Council Chamber microphones, records of whether captions are automatic or checked by a person, any review of whether posted video meets the provincial accessibility standard, and any guidance on microphone use. Shows what captions and transcripts the current system offers, at what cost, and whether posted video has been checked against the provincial standard. | Jan 1, 2021 - the date of this request | Requested |
| 9 | For the Mayor's October 2025 decision ordering an audit of the Interim CAO's accommodation expenses (MD-2025-06): MNP's engagement letter, invoices and report, the closed-session report of December 1, 2025, the town's payments for the CAO's accommodation to the Housing Corporation since February 2025, and the written decision to pay an extra $125 per payment. The audit was ordered by a Mayoral Decision and its results have not been reported; the Mayor said he alone decided on the extra $125. | Feb 1, 2025 - the date of this request | Requested |
Records received
Nothing received yet.
What has happened
- October 25, 2026
Request 4 of 4 (form and letter) emailed to the Clerk.
Records that may already be public (informal ask)
An informal email asking the Clerk for 9 records that should already be public or easy to share, so no formal request is needed. Anything that cannot be shared this way can be added to a formal request later.
- Sent
- Acknowledged
- Decision made
- Records received
- Closed
Related reports: The town's housing corporation and Caradoc Place · How Mayor Grantham used the powers of office · Mount Brydges sewage plant: costs, votes and lawsuit · Lawsuits against the town, 2022-2026
The 9 things asked for
| # | Records asked for | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The approved minutes of the Housing Corporation board meetings of February 25 and March 25, 2025, or confirmation that the February 25 meeting was not held. The March 25, 2025 minutes were approved on April 15, 2025 but not posted online. | Requested | |
| 2 | The Integrity Commissioner's written advice on directors' financial interests mentioned at the April 28, 2025 special Council meeting, or a note saying it cannot be shared. The advice that council-appointed directors are exempt is known only from the Deputy Mayor's spoken summary. | Requested | |
| 3 | Management's responses and timeline for the seven weaknesses in MNP's 2025 audit letter for the Housing Corporation, and Treasury's explanation of the $1,245,453 deficit. The weaknesses were reported to the board, but management's responses to them are not public. | Requested | |
| 4 | The Treasurer's 'three financial options' for the Housing Corporation from October 2024, and the revised 2024 budget the board received in August 2024 if it differs from the posted one. Shows what the board and Council were told about finances in fall 2024. | Requested | |
| 5 | The public staff report and minutes of the October 15, 2018 Council meeting on consultant retainers. The 2018 retainer lets staff give work to R.V. Anderson Associates without a separate Council vote. | Requested | |
| 6 | Signed copies of the interim servicing agreement with the Township of Adelaide Metcalfe (By-law 121-25) and its extension (By-law 104-26). Needed to see whether connections, rates or other terms changed. | Requested | |
| 7 | Copies of all conflict-of-interest statements filed by Mayor Grantham since November 15, 2022, whether any filed after July 6, 2026 are not yet posted, and where the Housing Corporation's own registry can be seen. Shows whether any conflict-of-interest declaration was filed for the budget. | Requested | |
| 8 | Any written records of the Mayor's strong-mayor directions or decisions given to the Clerk since May 1, 2025 that are not on the Mayoral Decisions page, including on the October 6, 2025 accommodation decision and the 2027 budget, or confirmation there are none. Provincial rules require these written records to be given to the Clerk and made public. | Requested | |
| 9 | The town's accessibility compliance reports for 2023 and 2025, the yearly status reports on the 2022-2027 accessibility plan for 2022 to 2024, and any Middlesex Accessibility Advisory Committee advice on accessible council meetings. Shows what the town has reported, and been advised, about meeting accessibility. | Requested |
Records received
Nothing received yet.
What has happened
- October 25, 2026
Informal email asking for 9 records sent to the Clerk.
Last updated October 27, 2026. Personal details, like home addresses, are removed from anything posted here.