May 2021
Boards discuss issues relating to specific units, staff, potential litigation, and other items that are private. Since the right of owners to examine the corporation’s records expressly excludes this type of information, per section 55(4) of the Condo Act, most corporations exclude the information from their standard board meeting minutes and document in separate, private and confidential minutes. If private and confidential information is retained in the standard minutes, it must be removed, or redacted, from the minutes prior to providing access to an owner.
People often confuse “private and confidential minutes” and “in camera minutes”. “In camera” is Latin for “in chambers” and refers to sessions where a portion of a meeting is held privately, with certain participants excluded. Typically, this occurs when a member of the board has a conflict of interest if they participate in the discussion. The board member would recuse themselves from the discussion and the minutes would be recorded “in camera”.
While Boards should strive for transparency, there are legitimate and legislated reasons to keep some discussions private according to Amy Riddell (Catney) of INaMINUTE Ltd.
