Chamber
ontario
Stage
Introduced
This Ontario bill strengthens accountability for municipal councillors by creating a process to remove members who seriously violate codes of conduct.
Key Changes
- Replaces locally created municipal codes of conduct with a single province-wide code set by the provincial government through regulation
- Gives the provincial Integrity Commissioner of Ontario a new role in overseeing and training local Integrity Commissioners
- Creates a new process where a local Integrity Commissioner can refer serious misconduct cases to the provincial Integrity Commissioner for a second independent inquiry
- Allows a councillor's seat to be declared vacant if the provincial Integrity Commissioner recommends it and the full council votes unanimously (excluding the accused member) to approve
- A removed councillor is disqualified from serving on any municipal council or local board for four years
- Local Integrity Commissioners can now refuse to investigate complaints they consider frivolous, vexatious, or not made in good faith
Gotchas
- Seat removal requires a unanimous vote of all eligible council members — a single dissenting vote prevents removal, making it very difficult to remove a councillor even after two independent inquiries find serious misconduct
- All existing municipal codes of conduct are immediately voided when the relevant schedule comes into force, creating a gap until the province issues new regulations prescribing a replacement code
- Inquiries must be paused or terminated during election periods (from nomination day to voting day), and can only restart if the local commissioner makes a written request within six weeks after the election
- The bill gives the provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing broad regulation-making powers to define what the code of conduct contains, how inquiries are run, and what training is required — many key details are left to future regulations rather than spelled out in the law itself
- If a person holds multiple seats (e.g., on a local council and an upper-tier council and a local board), losing one seat automatically triggers the loss of all other seats
Who's Affected
- Municipal councillors and local board members across Ontario
- Toronto city councillors (covered under the separate City of Toronto Act)
- Local Integrity Commissioners employed by municipalities
- The provincial Integrity Commissioner of Ontario, who gains new responsibilities
- Ontario residents who file complaints about councillor conduct
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- Seat removal requires a unanimous vote of all eligible council members — a single dissenting vote prevents removal, making it very difficult to remove a councillor even after two independent inquiries find serious misconduct
- All existing municipal codes of conduct are immediately voided when the relevant schedule comes into force, creating a gap until the province issues new regulations prescribing a replacement code
- Inquiries must be paused or terminated during election periods (from nomination day to voting day), and can only restart if the local commissioner makes a written request within six weeks after the election
- The bill gives the provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing broad regulation-making powers to define what the code of conduct contains, how inquiries are run, and what training is required — many key details are left to future regulations rather than spelled out in the law itself
- If a person holds multiple seats (e.g., on a local council and an upper-tier council and a local board), losing one seat automatically triggers the loss of all other seats
Summary
Bill 9, the Municipal Accountability Act, 2025, changes how codes of conduct work for elected municipal councillors and local board members across Ontario, including Toronto. Previously, each municipality created its own code of conduct. Under this bill, the provincial government (through the Lieutenant Governor in Council) will set a single standardized code of conduct that all municipal councillors must follow. The bill also creates a new process for removing a councillor from their seat. If a local Integrity Commissioner (an independent ethics officer) finds that a councillor seriously broke the code of conduct and caused harm to someone, they can refer the case to the provincial Integrity Commissioner of Ontario. That provincial commissioner then conducts their own independent inquiry. If they agree the violation was serious enough, they recommend to the council that the member's seat be declared vacant. The full council then votes on whether to remove the member. This bill was introduced to strengthen oversight of municipal politicians and create a more consistent, province-wide standard for ethical conduct. It adds a second layer of review through the provincial Integrity Commissioner to ensure serious misconduct cases are handled independently and consistently across all Ontario municipalities.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses
Recorded Votes
| Date | Description | Yeas | Nays | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 2025 | Second Reading of Bill 9, An Act to amend the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Municipal Act, 2001 in relation to codes of conduct. | 111 | 0 | Carried |