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Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you
Read by hand. We read The Nation's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.

Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

The Nation is run by an elected council of 7 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the town day to day.

Current council

Names and official email addresses from the town's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.

How open is The Nation?

What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 5, 2026.

  • Yes
    Budgets posted online

    The 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 budgets are posted as PDFs on one page. The 2026 book has several pages that are pictures (debt table, reserve tables, summary tables), which cannot be searched or read by software. Source

  • Yes
    Audited financial statements

    Statements for 2022 to 2025 are posted. The 2025 statements carry a clean opinion ("present fairly") dated June 9, 2026, and the 2024 statements one dated June 23, 2025. The statement of financial position (the balance sheet) in the 2025 PDF is a picture, so we could not read figures from it. Source

  • Partly
    Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

    Yearly reports are posted for 2021 to 2025. In the 2025 report the table's columns do not read cleanly in the text layer, so we did not copy any pay figures into this pack. Source

  • Unknown
    Meeting agendas and minutes

    Agendas and minutes are on an eScribe meeting portal embedded in the Meetings and Agendas page. We did not open the portal, so we did not read any minutes. Source

  • Unknown
    2022 election candidate filings

    The Previous Elections page lists 15 PDF files labelled only with dates. We did not open them. Source

Where the town speaks for itself

The Nation's official channels, as linked from its own website. Council members may also post on their own pages; we link only to official municipal channels.

Ask for the records

Anyone can ask the town for its records under Ontario's Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). You do not have to say why. Here is how it works, and the wording for the records that would answer the questions on this site.

  1. Send the request in writing to the town clerk (the freedom of information coordinator), on the town’s form or in a letter, with the $5 application fee.
  2. Describe the records, not the answer you want. Dates, departments and the kind of record (a list, invoices, emails) make a request quicker and cheaper.
  3. The town has 45 business days to answer (the law changed in 2026; older guides say 30 days). It can charge for search time and copies, but must send an estimate first if the fees will be over $25.
  4. Some parts can be held back, such as legal advice or personal information about other people. The town must say which part of the law it relied on.
  5. If you are refused, or the fees seem too high, you can appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner within 30 business days of the town’s decision.

The town's request form (on its Forms page) · The law · Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

  • Annual repayment limit worksheet for 2026

    The 2026 budget says the limit is 'becoming limited' after three large loans in 2023, but the table of current debts and room left is a picture. The worksheet shows the real room. Related question: How much room does The Nation have left to borrow, and what happens when its biggest loans come up for renewal?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the Annual Repayment Limit calculation used for the 2026 budget, including the schedule of current and proposed debt.

  • What is in the Sports Complex's financial expenses

    The 2026 budget shows $755,390 of financial expenses for the Sports Complex, about twice the yearly payments of the loan named in the statements. Related question: What does the Sports Complex cost residents each year once its loan payments are counted, and what makes up its $755,390 of financial expenses?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request a breakdown of the "Financial expenses (Sports complex)" line in the 2025 and 2026 operating budgets, listing each loan, lease or transfer included and its payments.

  • Financing plan for pumping station 11

    The statements show an $8,000,000 demand loan and $14,031,789 of term deposits, but not the plan to convert the loan. Related question: Why borrow $8,000,000 on a loan that can be called at any time while holding $14,031,789 in term deposits?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    Under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I request the staff reports and financing plan for the temporary loan for sanitary pumping station 11, and the schedule of term deposits at December 31, 2025 showing the reserve or fund each one belongs to.

The wording is a starting point, not legal advice. Narrow the dates if the town says a request is too broad or too costly.

How to raise a concern

From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.

  1. Integrity Commissioner

    The Municipality's Code of Conduct page says anyone can file a complaint about a council member with its Integrity Commissioner, with a $300 refundable fee that is returned unless the complaint is found frivolous or vexatious. We did not find any Integrity Commissioner reports on the pages we read.

  2. Declarations of pecuniary interest

    The Meetings and Agendas page lists declarations by council members from February 13, 2023 to August 12, 2024, with the meeting date, agenda item and reason. We did not build a finding on them.