City of Toronto Act, 2006

ONTARIO REGULATION 597/06

powers of the minister in implementing a proposal for minor restructuring

Consolidation Period: From April 1, 2024 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 106/24.

Legislative History: 90/10, 283/22, 106/24.

This is the English version of a bilingual regulation.

CONTENTS

Definitions

1. In this Regulation,

“local board” means a local board as defined in section 1 of the Municipal Affairs Act but does not include a school board, children’s aid society, committee of management or board of management of a long-term care home under Part IX of the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021, conservation authority, board of health, planning board, municipal planning authority or district social services administration board; (“conseil local”)

“proposal” means a proposal for minor restructuring of municipalities made by the City under subsection 149 (1) of the Act; (“proposition”)

“school board” means a board as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Education Act. (“conseil scolaire”)  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 1; O. Reg. 90/10, s. 1; O. Reg. 283/22, s. 1.

Purpose

2. For the purposes of subsection 155 (2) of the Act, this Regulation sets out the powers that the Minister may exercise in implementing a proposal.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 2.

Powers

3. (1) The Minister may,

(a) annex part of a municipality to another municipality;

(b) separate a part of a local municipality from an upper-tier municipality for municipal purposes;

(c) join part of a local municipality to an upper-tier municipality for municipal purposes.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 3 (1).

(2) The exercise of the powers set out in subsection (1) does not have the effect of,

(a) changing, directly or indirectly, the territorial jurisdiction of a school board; or

(b) affecting the application of a school board by-law that imposes education development charges on land undergoing development in a municipality, other than in the following ways:

(i) The rights and duties of a treasurer of a municipality and a municipality under the by-law and Division E of Part IX of the Education Act are transferred to the treasurer of the municipality and the municipality that issues building permits on land undergoing development that is subject to the by-law after the proposal comes into effect.

(ii) Amounts received by the treasurer of a municipality under the by-law and Division E of Part IX of the Education Act are transferred to the municipality that exists after the proposal comes into effect where the land in respect of which the charge was imposed is located.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 3 (2).

(3) Nothing in this Regulation affects the application of section 69 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 and section 9 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 3 (3).

Limitation

4. The Minister may continue, create, amalgamate and dissolve local boards so long as the exercise of the power,

(a) does not result in,

(i) a municipality having more than one local board providing the same service, unless the municipality may, under any Act, have more than one local board providing the same service,

(ii) a municipality having a type of local board other than a type the municipality is required to have or may have under any Act,

(iii) a local board having powers other than powers it has or may have under any Act,

(iv) policing being provided in a manner that does not comply with the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019,

(v) a local board having elected members; and

(b) results in a municipality having a local board of a type that the municipality is required to have under any Act.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 4; O. Reg. 106/24, s. 1.

Boards other than local boards

5. The Minister may establish or continue a board, other than a local board, to provide municipal services, and may establish its composition, but may not provide that its members are to be elected.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 5.

Composition of council, municipal service board, city board

6. (1) The Minister may establish the composition of the council of a municipality so long as,

(a) the council has a head and at least four other members;

(b) the members of the council are qualified electors under section 17 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 and are not disqualified from holding the office under any Act;

(c) in the case of a local municipality,

(i) the head of council is elected by general vote, and

(ii) the members of the council are elected in accordance with the Municipal Elections Act, 1996; and

(d) in the case of an upper-tier municipality,

(i) the composition of the council is in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 6 of subsection 218 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, and

(ii) if the members of the council are elected, the election is held in accordance with the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 6 (1).

(2) The Minister may establish the composition of a municipal service board, subject to the rules set out in subsections 196 (2) and (3) of the Municipal Act, 2001.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 6 (2).

(3) The Minister may establish the composition of a city board, subject to the rules set out in subsections 141 (2) and (3) of the Act.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 6 (3).

Qualifications, title

7. The Minister may,

(a) provide for qualifications that must be satisfied in order for a member of a council of a municipality to act in the place of the head of the council; and

(b) set out the title of a member who acts as described in clause (a).  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 7.

Votes

8. The Minister may,

(a) provide for the number of votes a member of the council of a municipality has on council; and

(b) provide that members of the council have different numbers of votes with respect to different matters.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 8.

Wards

9. The Minister may,

(a) establish wards for a municipality; and

(b) alter or dissolve the wards of a municipality.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 9.

Transfer of assets, etc.

10. Subject to section 4, the Minister may transfer assets and liabilities, rights and obligations of municipalities and local boards to other municipalities and local boards and determine the amount a municipality or local board shall pay to another municipality or local board in settlement of the transfer.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 10.

Requirements and restrictions in relation to certain matters

11. (1) The Minister may impose, on the council of a municipality that is affected by a proposal, requirements, restrictions or both in relation to the following:

1. Financial matters.

2. The application of savings resulting from budgetary controls.

3. The establishment and maintenance of reserves and reserve funds.

4. Payments from a municipality or local board to a municipality or local board.

5. Spending on specified municipal services and contributions to other municipalities for specified municipal services that benefit the contributing municipality.

6. The sale of assets and the use of the proceeds.

7. Adjustments to the tax rates for taxpayers in any part of the municipality in respect of transit, policing, parks, roads, conservation authorities and ferry services.

8. The hiring of employees.

9. The establishment and composition of committees for transitional purposes.

10. The provisions of the procedure by-law governing the calling, place and proceedings of meetings.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 11 (1); O. Reg. 106/24, s. 2.

(2) Requirements and restrictions under paragraph 1 of subsection (1) may apply only in the year in which the order imposing them becomes effective and in the following year.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 11 (2).

(3) Requirements and restrictions under paragraph 10 of subsection (1) do not affect the council’s authority to subsequently amend the procedure by-law.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 11 (3).

Requirement for review

12. The Minister may require the council of a municipality to review any matter at a time specified by the Minister.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 12.

Official plans, by-laws, resolutions

13. (1) Subject to section 4 and subsections (2), (3) and (4), the Minister may provide for the continuation, cessation, extension or otherwise of official plans, by-laws and resolutions of municipalities and local boards in a geographic area to which a proposal applies.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 13 (1).

(2) Official plans and zoning by-laws pertaining to an area to which a proposal applies shall be deemed to be official plans and zoning by-laws of municipalities and local boards in which the area is located after the proposal comes into effect, until they are amended or repealed under the Planning Act.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 13 (2).

(3) By-laws passed under section 2 of the Development Charges Act, 1997 shall not be made to apply to a greater area than that to which they applied before the proposal came into effect.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 13 (3).

(4) By-laws or resolutions that could not be lawfully repealed by the council of a municipality or a local board shall not be repealed under subsection (1).  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 13 (4).

Interim council

14. (1) If a proposal comes into effect at any time other than at the end of the regular term of office of a council of a municipality, the Minister may provide for and establish the composition of an interim council of a municipality whose members shall hold office until the end of the regular term of office.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 14 (1).

(2) Subsection (1) is subject to clauses 6 (1) (a) and (b).  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 14 (2).

(3) The members of an interim council shall be determined,

(a) by holding a by-election under section 65 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, but no such by-election shall be held in a regular municipal election year; or

(b) by designating members of the councils of the municipalities any part of which exist in the geographic area before the proposal comes into effect.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 14 (3).

(4) The Minister may,

(a) shorten the regular term of office of a council of a municipality or local board to the date on which an interim council or local board takes office;

(b) extend the regular term of office of a council of a municipality or local board to the earlier of the date a proposal comes into effect or January 1 of the year following a regular municipal election.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 14 (4).

Special provisions during election year

15. (1) If a proposal comes into effect during a regular municipal election year as provided in section 19, the Minister may make special provisions for holding the regular municipal election under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 in that year.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 15 (1).

(2) If a proposal comes into effect between December 1 of a regular municipal election year and January 1 of the following year, both inclusive, the Minister may provide for holding the regular municipal election in accordance with the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 as if the municipalities, school boards and local boards that will exist after the proposal comes into effect were already in existence.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 15 (2).

Powers re taxes

16. (1) The Minister may provide for the phase-in of shifts in real property taxes occurring as a result of an order made under section 149 of the Act.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 16 (1).

(2) The Minister may provide for tax rate adjustments that apply to taxpayers in any area of a municipality in respect of debts, deficits, surpluses, reserves or reserve funds of municipalities and local boards created before a proposal comes into effect.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 16 (2).

Arbitration

17. The Minister may provide in an order that issues arising out of its interpretation be resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Act, 1991 or by another method specified in the order.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 17.

Restricted acts

18. In implementing a proposal, the Minister may order that a municipality affected by the proposal,

(a) shall not make,

(i) a restructuring proposal under section 173 of the Municipal Act, 2001, or

(ii) a further proposal as defined in section 1; or

(b) may make a proposal described in subclause (a) (i) or (ii) only as the order permits.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 18.

Effective date

19. (1) An order of the Minister implementing a proposal shall not come into effect between January 2 and November 30, both inclusive, in a regular municipal election year, except as described in subsection (2).  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 19 (1).

(2) An order under subsection (1) may come into effect at any time between January 2 and July 1, both inclusive, in a regular municipal election year if,

(a) no local municipal wards that existed on January 1 in the year are being changed;

(b) no new local municipal ward is being created, other than a ward that consists solely of the entire area of one or more,

(i) local municipal wards that existed on January 1 of the year, or

(ii) local municipalities that existed and had no wards on January 1 of the year;

(c) no local municipality that existed on January 1 of the year is being split; and

(d) all local municipalities and local municipal wards remain wholly within one or more of the geographic areas to which trustee positions are distributed in that year under a regulation made under clause 58.1 (2) (k) of the Education Act.  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 19 (2).

20. Omitted (provides for coming into force of provisions of this Regulation).  O. Reg. 597/06, s. 20.