There are two ways to view the meetings – a calendar view and a list view. These options are in the top-right hand corner of the page.
On this page
Meetings, agendas and minutes
Meeting agendas, minutes and videos for City Council, its committees and select local boards can be accessed through the City’s agendas and minutes web portal.
See using the City’s Agendas and minutes web portal for more information.
The following is available through the portal:
- Meeting schedules
- Agendas
- Minutes
- Meeting documentation
- Live streams
- Meeting recordings for meetings held on or after June 27, 2022
Live meeting streams and archived meeting videos continue to be available on the Ottawa City Council YouTube Channel. More information is available in the Watch or listen to Council and committee meetings article.
Meeting documentation from January 2001 to June 2012 can be accessed through the legacy agendas and minutes application.
If at any time you are unable to find a document or access the links above, please send an email to Committees@ottawa.ca.
Watch or listen to Council and Committee meetings
Watch or listen to meetings in progress or access the video or audio of past meetings on YouTube or on the agendas and minutes web portal.
Regular City Council meetings are also broadcast live on RogersTV Cable 22 and live streamed on the RogersTV website. For more information about how to watch or participate in individual meetings, please consult the specific meeting’s agenda at ottawa.ca/agendas. City Council meeting video with closed captioning is available in both French and English courtesy of Rogers TV.
For most standing committees, sub-committees, Transit Commission and the Police Services Board, the meeting audio is available in the language spoken in the meeting room.
You can actively participate in standing committee, Transit Commission, sub-committee and advisory committee proceedings. More information about how to register to speak or submit written comments is available through the meeting agenda or our “How to participate in Council and committee proceedings” article.
To access this content, you will need:
- Most recent version of Google Chrome, Firefox, MS Edge, or Safari
- Operating system: Windows 7+, Mac OS X 10.7+, or Ubuntu 10+
- Internet connection with 1+ Mbps
Attending and participating in Council and committee meetings
You can access meeting documentation and live stream City Council and committee meetings on the agendas and minutes web portal. You can also live stream meetings and access past recordings on the Ottawa City Council YouTube Channel. Regular City Council meetings are broadcast live on RogersTV Cable 22 and live streamed on the RogersTV website.
You can actively participate in standing committee, Transit Commission, sub-committee and advisory committee proceedings. Please review the “Notices and meeting information for meeting participants and the public” document linked from the relevant meeting agenda or "How to participate in Council and committee proceedings" article to learn how to register to speak at committee or submit written comments.
Standing committee, Transit Commission, sub-committee and advisory committee meetings are being held in a hybrid format (both in person and electronically using Zoom) until further notice.
Those who are sick or should be self-isolating as a result of COVID-19 should not attend in-person at City Council meetings or any other in-person meeting or event at Ottawa City Hall. Please consult Ottawa Public Health guidance for updated guidance for those who have symptoms, test, positive for COVID-19 and high-risk contacts.
Security measures for Council and standing committees
The City of Ottawa has implemented security measures to ensure a safe and secure environment for in-person Council, Standing Committee and Transit Commission meetings held in the City Hall Council Chambers – Andrew S. Haydon Hall.
The foyer entrance leading from Jean Pigott Place is designated for all members of the public. Before passing through the gates, security personnel will inspect all purses, bags and overcoats. In addition, they will observe and assess all visitors to ensure they are not carrying any prohibited items.
A separate lineup at the public entrance is reserved for individuals with accessibility requirements, and visitors not carrying any bags or backpacks.
If an individual exits the foyer, they will have to re-enter the security screening process. Please note that there are washroom facilities accessible from the foyer.
The time estimated to complete the screening process is approximately one minute. To avoid any delays, visitors should avoid carrying any unnecessary baggage, and ensure they are not in possession of any prohibited items.
Any object that may compromise safety or security is prohibited, including:
- Noisemakers, megaphones or air horns
- Placards and signs
- Sharp objects, blades or striking tools
- Compressed gas cylinders, aerosol cans, and non-sealed batteries
- Explosive or flammable items
- Firearms – including toy replicas
- Beverages
- Any unchecked bags
Empty plastic and metallic bottles are permitted and can be filled at the water fountain located in the secured Council Chambers foyer. Please note, the consumption of food and beverages (other than water) remains prohibited in the public gallery of the Council Chambers.
Members of Council and City staff will be able to enter the foyer to the Council Chambers using a City-issued photo ID access card at the security gate located underneath the staircase by the Lisgar Street entrance.
The security gates will be in operation for all City Council meetings, as well as Standing Committee meetings held within Council Chambers, and other special events, if required.
Sign up for City Council updates and upcoming meeting notices
Sign up for the “City news” e-subscription to receive City Council updates and a weekly advisory of upcoming meetings at City Hall. As a subscriber, you will receive an email following each Council meeting that summarizes some of the major decisions made by City Council. You will also be sent a weekly notification of upcoming meetings at Ottawa City Hall.
You can sign up for the “Meetings at City Hall next week” e-subscription if you prefer to only receive a weekly advisory of upcoming meetings at City Hall.
You can unsubscribe from these eSubscriptions at any time.
Archived Council and committee audio and webcasts
Archived Council webcasts and Committee audiocasts are being migrated to the Ottawa City Council YouTube Channel. If you are unable to find the meeting you are looking for or are looking for City Council videos for meetings that took place from 2006 to 2012, please contact Committees@ottawa.ca.
Using the City’s agendas and minutes web portal
This page provides information on how to use the City’s agendas and minutes web portal on eScribe. Go to ottawa.ca/agendas for more information on availability of, and access to, agendas, minutes and recordings.
Finding Meetings
You can also find meetings and documents by using the search and filter tools available in either view.
These views and tools are described in more detail below.
List view
Upcoming meetings
The list view includes two sections: upcoming meetings and past meetings. The agendas, minutes and videos will appear next to each upcoming meeting when available.
Five upcoming meetings appear by default. To view more upcoming meetings, click on the “click here to see more meetings” button. The button is below the list of upcoming meetings.
Past meetings
In the list view, you may view past meetings by clicking on a meeting type (a specific committee or board, or Council). Click on any heading to expand the list of meetings of that type.
By default, only meetings for the current calendar year appear under past meetings. By using the year drop-down menu, you can filter past meetings by year, or include all years.
If you are looking for a past meeting, the simplest way is to select the meeting type and year in this view.
Calendar view
The calendar view shows all published meetings for a specific month. By default, it displays the current month.
By using the arrows on either side of the month’s name, located at the top of the page, you may navigate to the previous or next month.
Click on any meeting in the calendar to view that meeting’s information, agenda, minutes and video, if available.
Search and filtering
Filtering
To filter, click on the funnel icon (shown below) in the top right-hand corner of the page. Filtering is available in either calendar or list views. You can filter searches by date range, and by one or more meeting types.
Search bar
The search bar is at the top of the page. Enter search terms, then click on the magnifying glass icon (shown below).
You can also press the “enter”/return button on your keyboard to start the search. Results may include reports and documents, as well as meetings, agendas and minutes.
You can use searching and filtering together to help further refine search results.
Please note that search functionality within the agendas and minutes web portal is currently limited. You can also conduct your search using a search engine such as Google, Bing, or Startpage. You can do so by adding the term “site:pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com” (without the quotation marks) to your search. This will ensure that the search engine only displays results from the City of Ottawa’s agendas and minutes web portal.
Agenda and minutes formats
Links to the agenda and minutes will be published for each meeting when available. You can access the agenda and minutes in either HTML (web page) or PDF formats.
The HTML format is accessible, and by clicking on the title of an item, you can:
- Access item attachments such as staff reports
- Generate a link to the item (in the browser address bar) which is permanent and can be shared
- Start the meeting video at the time stamp for that item (if available)
The PDF formats allow for printing and saving. It is not possible to view item attachments in PDF format. Any hyperlinks found within the PDF documents are not functional.
Meeting videos
Links to live and past meeting videos (if available) are posted to the agendas and minutes web portal. Each meeting has links to its own video, along with links to its agenda and minutes. You can also watch a meeting video within that meeting’s HTML agenda or minutes.
Live video
While watching live meetings, the video player allows you to:
- Start and pause the video
- Expand the video to full screen
- Change the volume
The portal does not auto-refresh. If you are waiting for a live stream to start, please manually refresh your browser until the stream link appears. The link should appear about 5 minutes before the scheduled meeting time. If refreshing causes the site to freeze, you can open the portal in a new tab.
If you pause the eScribe video player and wish to return to the live stream, you will have to refresh your web page and start the video again.
It is not possible to rewind or fast-forward in the agendas and minutes web portal during a live stream. Meetings are also streamed to Ottawa City Council YouTube channel. YouTube provides these additional controls for live meetings.
Past meeting videos
When watching past meetings on the agendas and minutes web portal, it is possible to rewind or fast-forward the video.
You can also go to the discussion on a particular item by clicking on the title of that item. Time stamps are approximate until adjusted by City staff after the meeting. Time stamping is not available in a mobile view. You can request a desktop view on your mobile device to access the time stamping feature.