Bill 197 explained in plain English
Education and Municipal Amendment Act (Filling Vacancies), 2011
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill amends the Education Act and the Municipal Act, 2001, to change the rules for filling vacancies on school boards and municipal councils, particularly those occurring shortly after an election.
Bill 197, the Education and Municipal Amendment Act (Filling Vacancies), 2011, makes changes to how vacancies are filled on school boards and municipal councils. For school boards, it removes the ability to choose between appointing a replacement or holding a by-election for a six-month period after the board is organized in an election year. For municipalities, it requires them to create a policy for filling vacancies that occur within six months after an election, and this policy must be in place at least six months before election day. If a municipality does not have a policy, existing rules will apply, or a by-election will be required.
- Amends the Education Act to change the rules for filling vacancies on school boards.
- Amends the Municipal Act, 2001, to establish new rules for filling vacancies on municipal councils.
- Requires municipalities to create and maintain policies for filling vacancies that occur within six months after a regular election.
- Specifies that municipal policies for filling vacancies must be adopted at least six months before voting day of a regular election.
- States that if a municipality has not adopted a policy, vacancies will be filled according to the most recently effective policy or by holding a by-election.
- Changes existing rules in the Municipal Act, 2001, regarding when vacancies must be filled.
- School boards in Ontario
- Municipal councils in Ontario
- Municipal electors (through by-elections)
- Municipalities are obligated to adopt and maintain a policy for filling vacancies that occur within six months after a regular election.
- Municipalities must have this policy in place at least six months before voting day of a regular election.
- School boards cannot choose to hold a by-election in certain circumstances within six months after being organized in an election year.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Municipal policies must be adopted at least six months before voting day of a regular election.
- Municipalities must fill vacancies within 60 days after the later of the day the vacancy is declared under section 262 or by a court.
- Vacancies must be filled in accordance with the municipality's policy for six months after voting day of a regular election.
- Potential costs associated with holding by-elections if a municipality does not have a policy in place.
- The bill does not specify penalties for non-compliance, but it does outline procedures for filling vacancies if a municipality has not adopted a required policy.
- The bill does not specify the content of the municipal policy beyond requiring it to state whether an appointment or a by-election will be held.
- The bill does not detail the process or criteria for declaring a vacancy under section 262 of the Municipal Act, 2001.
- The bill does not state what happens if a vacancy occurs within the six-month period after voting day but the municipality has not adopted a policy, beyond referring to the most recently effective policy or requiring a by-election.
Changes the circumstances under which a school board can choose to hold a by-election rather than appoint a person to fill a vacancy, specifically removing this choice during the six-month period after the board is organized in an election year. It repeals clause 221 (2) (c) of the Education Act.
Source: Section 1 of the Bill
Introduces a new requirement for municipalities to adopt and maintain a policy on how to fill vacancies occurring within six months after an election, determining whether an appointment or a by-election will be held. It also amends section 263 to specify how vacancies are filled according to these policies and modifies subsection 263 (5) to clarify which vacancies the section applies to.
Source: Sections 2 and 3 of the Bill
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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