Informal Complaints can be addressed by any person who believes that the activity of a Member has breached the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, but the person does not want to initiate a formal complaint. Any person may:

• Advise the Member that his or her behaviour or activity appears to constitute a contravention;
• Encourage the Member to acknowledge and agree to stop the prohibited behaviour or activity and avoid future occurrences of the prohibited behaviour or activity;
• Where the Member agrees to cease the behaviour, confirm in writing that the agreement is satisfactory;
• Where the Member's response is not satisfactory, advise the Member of your dissatisfaction with the response; and 
• Consider the need to pursue the matter in accordance with the formal complaint procedure, outlined below.

Individuals are encouraged to pursue the informal complaint procedure as the first means of remedying behaviour or an activity that they believe violates the Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.

Any individual who identifies or witnesses behaviour or an activity by a Member that they believe is in contravention of this Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, may file a formal complaint.  

Any person may file a complaint with the Municipality by submitting in writing the prescribed Complaint Form to the Clerk.  The form must contain an attestation from the complainant that they believe that the facts as set out in the complaint are true to the best of their knowledge and belief and that they make those statements as if they were under oath.

Every complaint must be accompanied by the prescribed fee in the amount of $150.00.  

In the event the Integrity Commissioner determines that a complaint is frivolous, vexatious or does not disclose a breach of this Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, at any point after the submission of the complaint, the complainant shall forfeit the fee.  If the result of the complaint is a negotiated resolution or a finding that the Member breached this Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, the fee shall be refunded in part, up to 50%, based on the recommendation of the Integrity Commissioner.

Every complaint shall include the following:

• The complaint must set out reasonable and probable grounds for the allegation that the Member has contravened this Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
• Any witnesses in support of the allegation must be identified in the complaint.
• The Integrity Commissioner may request additional information from the complainant prior to making an assessment.

If the complaint is not, on its face, a complaint with respect to non-compliance with this Code of Conduct or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act or the complaint is covered by other legislation or complaint procedure under another policy, the Integrity Commissioner shall refer the complaint to the appropriate entity for investigation, advise the complainant in writing, suspend the investigation until the matter has been finally disposed of, and report the suspension of the investigation to Council.

If the Integrity Commissioner is of the opinion that the referral of a matter to him or her is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith, or that there are no grounds or insufficient grounds for an investigation, the Integrity Commissioner shall not conduct an investigation and, where this becomes apparent in the course of an investigation, shall terminate the investigation.  The Integrity Commissioner shall communicate this position in writing to the complainant and the Member identified in the complaint.

Complaints, comments and concerns can be submitted online. Complaints are tracked and the staff will follow up with individual complaints. You can also download a complaint form and submit it to the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer and Town Clerk. All complaints must be signed. Anonymous complaints will not be received by the Clerk's Department or the Integrity Commissioner. 

• Submit a Complaint Online
• Download the Municipal Complaint Form

Complaint forms are also available at Town Hall. Please email info@renfrew.ca or call 613-432-4848 to request a copy. 

Personal information contained on this form is collected under section 239.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25 (as amended) and will be used by the Town of Renfrew Integrity Commissioner to carry out an investigation under the Act. Questions about this collection should be directed to the Town Clerk's Office, 

127 Raglan Street South, Renfrew, 

ON K7V 1P8, 

tel. 613-432-4848, 

email. info@renfrew.ca 

Please note: 

• All requests for investigation will be reviewed by the Integrity Commissioner who will decide if an investigation is warranted 

• All investigations undertaken by the Integrity Commissioner shall be completed within a 30-day period and a report to Town Council or the affected Local Board, as the case may be, shall be submitted for every investigation

Request for Investigation