Bill 207 explained in plain English
Municipal Accountability and Integrity Act, 2024
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 43rd 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
Bill 207 strengthens accountability for municipal and Toronto councillors by requiring codes of conduct to address workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination, establishing a provincial framework and new Board of Integrity Commissioners, and giving Integrity Commissioners power to seek court orders vacating members' seats for egregious violations.
Bill 207 amends Ontario's Municipal Act, 2001 and the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to strengthen accountability and integrity standards for municipal and Toronto city councillors and local board members. The bill requires codes of conduct to include provisions on workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination, with mandatory annual training on these topics. It requires the Province to review existing codes of conduct and establish a standardized framework that all municipalities and Toronto must follow. The framework will include standard provisions, training requirements, penalty ranges, investigation processes, and protections against reprisal. The bill creates a Board of Integrity Commissioners within the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario to handle complaints about workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination. It also gives Integrity Commissioners new powers to apply to Superior Court to have a member's seat declared vacant if they have "egregiously" violated the municipality's workplace violence, harassment, or discrimination policies, and to make a member ineligible to run in subsequent elections for a set period. The bill comes into force upon Royal Assent.
- Requires municipal and Toronto codes of conduct to mandate compliance with workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination policies established under the Occupational Health and Safety Act
- Requires reporting of code of conduct contraventions to the municipality or local board
- Mandates annual third-party training on workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination for all councillors and local board members, with written attestation of attendance required
- Requires the Ontario Minister to review municipal codes of conduct within one year of the bill coming into force
- Requires the Ontario Minister to establish a standardized framework for codes of conduct within six months of completing the review, including standard provisions, training requirements, penalty ranges, investigation processes, trauma-informed complaint handling, reprisal protections, and informal resolution mechanisms
- Directs the Minister to establish an implementation plan and schedule for municipalities and Toronto to adopt the framework code of conduct
- Creates a Board of Integrity Commissioners as part of the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario to adjudicate claims regarding workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination
- Specifies that Board members must meet licensing and good character requirements set by the Law Society of Ontario
- States the Board's mandate is ensuring access to justice
- Allows Integrity Commissioners to apply to Superior Court for confirmation of determinations that a member egregiously violated workplace violence, harassment, or discrimination policies
- Permits Integrity Commissioners to seek court orders declaring a member's seat vacant if the judge agrees the member egregiously violated these policies
- Makes members ineligible to run for or be appointed to office for the period from the seat vacation date until the second subsequent regular election
- Prohibits applications to vacate seats during election periods (from nomination day to voting day in a regular election)
- Allows Integrity Commissioners to impose prescribed penalties and remedies that are binding
- Municipal councillors (in all Ontario municipalities except Toronto)
- Members of local boards in Ontario municipalities
- City of Toronto councillors
- Members of local boards in Toronto (restricted definition)
- Ontario municipalities and their local boards (required to adopt the provincial framework)
- City of Toronto and its local boards (required to adopt the provincial framework)
- Integrity Commissioners (new powers and responsibilities)
- Board of Integrity Commissioners members (newly created role)
- Individuals making complaints about workplace violence, harassment, or discrimination by councillors or board members
- Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs (responsibility for review, framework, and implementation oversight)
- Municipalities and Toronto must include workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination provisions in codes of conduct
- Councillors and local board members must comply with workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination policies
- Councillors and local board members must report code of conduct contraventions to their municipality or local board
- Municipalities and Toronto must provide annual mandatory third-party training on workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination
- Councillors and local board members must provide written attestation of attendance at mandatory training
- The Minister must review existing codes of conduct within one year of Royal Assent
- The Minister must establish a provincial framework for codes of conduct including 12 specified elements (standard provisions, training requirements, penalty ranges, investigation processes, trauma-informed processes, reprisal protections, informal resolution mechanisms, and others)
- Municipalities and Toronto must implement the provincial framework according to a Minister-established plan and schedule
- The Board of Integrity Commissioners must meet requirements related to composition, licensing, and access to justice mandate
- Individuals have the right to complain about workplace violence, harassment, or discrimination violations through the code of conduct system
- Bill comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (Section 9)
- Within one year after the bill comes into force: Minister must conduct a review of codes of conduct (Sections 2 and 6)
- Within six months after the review is completed: Minister must establish the provincial framework for codes of conduct (Sections 2 and 6)
- No applications to vacate seats may be made during the period from nomination day to voting day in a regular election under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996
- Integrity Commissioners may apply to Superior Court for confirmation of determinations that a member has egregiously contravened workplace violence, harassment, or discrimination policies
- If a Superior Court judge finds an egregious contravention, the judge may declare the member's seat vacant
- A member whose seat is vacated is ineligible to stand as a candidate or be appointed during the period from seat vacation until the second subsequent regular election
- Integrity Commissioners may impose prescribed penalties and remedies that are binding (specific penalties to be prescribed by regulation)
- No applications to vacate seats may be made during election periods (from nomination day to voting day in a regular election)
- The bill does not specify which 'prescribed penalties' and 'prescribed remedies' Integrity Commissioners may impose; these are to be determined by regulation
- The bill does not specify the 'prescribed number' of members on the Board of Integrity Commissioners; this is to be determined by regulation
- The bill does not define 'egregiously' failed to comply, which is the threshold for a Superior Court judge to vacate a seat; this standard is not further explained in the bill text
- The bill does not specify the content of the annual mandatory training beyond the topic areas (workplace violence, harassment, discrimination)
- The bill does not specify the 'prescribed circumstances' in which penalties and remedies may be imposed
- The bill does not detail how the 'prescribed number' of Board members will be appointed, only that it is in consultation with governing bodies
- The bill does not specify which third-party providers are approved to deliver mandatory training
- The bill does not specify how the 'implementation plan and schedule' for municipalities to adopt the framework will be structured or enforced
- The bill references section 32.0.1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act but does not include that section's full text
- It is unclear whether the Board of Integrity Commissioners will have power beyond adjudicating claims about workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination
Section 223.2 amended to add requirements that codes of conduct must address workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination, require annual mandatory training, and require attestation of training attendance. New sections 223.2.1 and 223.2.2 added: section 223.2.1 requires the Minister to review codes of conduct and establish a provincial framework; section 223.2.2 creates a Board of Integrity Commissioners. Section 223.4 amended to give Integrity Commissioners power to apply for judicial review to vacate seats for egregious violations of workplace violence, harassment, or discrimination policies. New section 223.4.0.1 added to establish the process for applying to Superior Court and the consequences of finding an egregious contravention.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4
Section 157 amended to add requirements that codes of conduct must address workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination, require annual mandatory training, and require attestation of training attendance. New section 157.1 added requiring the Minister to review Toronto's codes of conduct and establish a framework for implementation. Section 160 amended to give Integrity Commissioners power to apply for judicial review to vacate seats and impose prescribed penalties for egregious violations of workplace violence, harassment, or discrimination policies. New section 160.0.1 added to establish the process for applying to Superior Court and the consequences of finding an egregious contravention.
Source: Sections 5, 6, 7, 8
Bill references section 32.0.1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which establishes workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination policies that municipal and Toronto codes of conduct must now require compliance with.
Source: Sections 1(2.1)(a), 5(2.1)(a)
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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