WHEREAS on October 27, 2020, the Ontario Government introduced into the Ontario Legislature Bill 218, an Act to enact the Supporting Ontario’s Recovery and Municipal Elections Act, 2020, which included amendments to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 and to revoke a regulation; and
WHEREAS after a public review of the Municipal Elections Act, that included input from the public, municipal councils and staff from across the province, in 2016, the Province of Ontario passed the Municipal Elections Modernization Act, 2016, in which an amendment included the move of nomination day to the fourth Friday in July of an Election year and the option for a municipality to introduce a Ranked Ballot Election;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council endorse the correspondence from the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) attached to this resolution regarding the concerns of the proposed amendments brought forward by Bill 218 with respect to the lack of consultation on the recommended changes to legislation that affects municipal councils and voters; and
FURHER THAT Council, request the Provincial Government continue with the 2016 process requiring that municipalities be consulted with respect to changes that affect voting processes as outlined in the Municipal Elections Act; and
FURTHER THAT that a letter be sent to the Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Doug Ford; the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Minister Steve Clark, Ministry of the Attorney General, Minister Doug Downey, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) David Piccini, the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO), Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the County of Northumberland, and all other Lower-Tier Councils within the County.