In CBC v. Chief of Police (Div Ct, 2021) the Divisional Court considered SPPA s.9 regarding public openness of proceedings in a tribunal context (here a police disciplinary hearing):
S.9(1) of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act does not override Dagenais-Mentuck test
[50] The respondents rely on s.9(1) of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.22, which states:
9 (1) An oral hearing shall be open to the public except where the tribunal is of the opinion that,
(a) matters involving public security may be disclosed; or
(b) financial or personal matters or other matters may be disclosed at the hearing of such a nature, having regard to the circumstances, that the desirability of avoiding disclosure thereof in the interests of any person affected or in the public interest outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that hearings be open to the public, in which case the tribunal may hold the hearing in the absence of the public.
[51] The respondents submit that the effect of s.9 (1) of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act is that the Dagenais-Mentuck test and the openness principle do not apply to police board hearings. There is no merit to this submission where, as was the case here, the hearing was a quasi-judicial professional misconduct hearing.[27]
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