Summary#

Calgary City Council adopted Mayor Farkas’s notice of motion on June 30, 2026. It directs the Chief Administrative Officer to include an annual in-camera summary in the Q1 Quarterly Report to Council; the stated goal is to give Calgarians a clearer account of closed-session activity.

• The summary must cover all Council and Committee closed sessions from the previous calendar year.
• For each session, it must list the date, meeting body, legal reason given for closing the meeting, and title.
• The motion does not change the rules for closing meetings or require release of closed-session contents.

What it means for you#

• Residents: The direction requires a yearly summary to be included in a report to Council. It does not expressly require the summary itself to be publicly posted.
• Council and City staff: The Chief Administrative Officer must ensure the summary is included each year. The motion does not set out how it will be prepared.
• People following the vote: Council carried the motion 8 to 6. Councillors Ward, Clark, Dhaliwal, Atkinson, Kelly and Wyness voted against.

Money#

No cost information is in the available material.

• The motion requires an annual summary but gives no estimate of staff time or other costs.

What is unclear#

• The motion does not specify when the first summary must appear.
• It does not say whether the Q1 Quarterly Report, or the summary within it, must be publicly posted.
• It does not explain how the summary will be prepared or checked.

Case for#

• The notice says the City already records closed sessions and publicly posts a Confidential Release Tracker, but has no required consolidated annual account.
• A summary with the date, meeting body, legal reason and title for each session could make that information easier to review in one place.

Case against#

• The motion does not expressly require public release, which could limit its usefulness to residents.
• The listed information gives basic details about each session, but not what was discussed or decided.
• Six councillors voted against the motion, but the supplied minutes do not give their reasons.