Bill 187 explained in plain English
Municipal Emergency Act, 2020
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 42nd Parliament, 1st 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 Act allows for electronic participation in municipal meetings during emergencies and enables regulations to limit certain municipal powers.
Bill 187, now the Municipal Emergency Act, 2020, allows municipal councils, local boards, and committees to permit electronic participation in meetings during declared emergencies. This means members participating electronically can be counted towards quorum. Additionally, it allows for electronic participation in meetings closed to the public during emergencies. For the City of Toronto, only the head of council can call a special meeting to amend procedure by-laws for electronic participation during emergencies. The Act also allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to create regulations that limit or set conditions on certain municipal powers related to financial matters.
- Amends the Municipal Act, 2001 to allow members of municipal councils, local boards, and committees to participate electronically in meetings and be counted for quorum during declared emergencies.
- Amends the Municipal Act, 2001 to allow electronic participation in meetings that are closed to the public during declared emergencies.
- Amends the Municipal Act, 2001 to allow municipalities and local boards to hold special meetings to amend by-laws for electronic participation during emergencies.
- Amends the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to allow members of city council, local boards, and committees to participate electronically in meetings and be counted for quorum during declared emergencies.
- Amends the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to allow electronic participation in meetings that are closed to the public during declared emergencies.
- Amends the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to allow the city council or local boards to hold special meetings to amend by-laws for electronic participation during emergencies.
- Specifies that only the head of the City of Toronto's council can call a special meeting to amend by-laws for electronic participation during emergencies.
- Amends the Municipal Act, 2001 to allow the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations imposing limits and conditions on certain municipal powers.
- Municipal councils in Ontario
- Local boards of municipal councils in Ontario
- Committees of municipal councils in Ontario
- City of Toronto council
- Local boards of the City of Toronto
- Committees of the City of Toronto
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council
- Municipal councils, local boards, and committees have the option to permit electronic participation in meetings during emergencies.
- Members participating electronically can be counted for quorum during emergencies.
- Electronic participation is permitted in meetings closed to the public during emergencies.
- The head of council in Toronto is the only one who can call special meetings regarding electronic participation by-laws during emergencies.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council has the power to make regulations concerning certain municipal powers.
- The Act came into force on March 19, 2020, the day it received Royal Assent.
- The Act enables the Lieutenant Governor in Council to create regulations that may impose limits and conditions on municipal powers, which could indirectly affect municipal finances or decision-making related to finances.
- Section 2 amends subsection 451.1(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001 by adding section 129 to the list of sections referenced. Section 129 of the Municipal Act, 2001 deals with municipal powers and finances. This amendment allows for regulations to be made under section 129.
- The specific limits and conditions that the Lieutenant Governor in Council may impose on municipal powers under section 129 of the Municipal Act, 2001 are not detailed in this bill.
- The Act relies on the declaration of an emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to enable its provisions regarding electronic participation. The conditions for declaring such an emergency are not part of this bill.
Allows municipal councils, local boards, and committees to permit electronic participation in meetings and count those members for quorum during declared emergencies. It also permits electronic participation in closed meetings and allows for special meetings to amend by-laws for this purpose. Additionally, it allows for regulations to be made imposing limits and conditions on certain municipal powers.
Source: Section 1 and Section 2
Allows Toronto's city council, local boards, and committees to permit electronic participation in meetings and count those members for quorum during declared emergencies. It also permits electronic participation in closed meetings and allows for special meetings to amend by-laws for this purpose. It specifies that only the head of council can call such special meetings.
Source: Section 3
This Act is referenced as the basis for declaring an emergency that would allow the provisions of Bill 187 to take effect.
Source: Section 1 and Section 3
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.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
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.
How this data is sourced