WHEREAS, Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) have passed a motion that supports the call of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for the Government of Ontario to introduce legislation to strengthen municipal Codes of Conduct and compliance with them in consultation with municipal governments or in the alternative, OBCM has supported the province ordering Bill 5 for second reading to expedite the matter;
AND WHEREAS the legislation encompasses the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s recommendations for:
a. Updating municipal Codes of Conduct to account for workplace safety and harassment;
b. Creating a flexible administrative penalty regime, adapted to the local economic and financial circumstances of municipalities across Ontario;
c. Increasing training of municipal Integrity Commissioners to enhance consistency of investigations and recommendations across the province;
d. Allowing municipalities to apply to a member of the judiciary to remove a sitting member if recommended through the report of a municipal Integrity Commissioner; and
e. Prohibiting a member so removed from sitting for election in the term of removal and the subsequent term of office.
AND WHEREAS OBCM’s motion requests that municipalities and their respective Integrity Commissioners be consulted on the development of any regulations related to the proposed legislation;
AND WHEREAS OBCM believes that municipal elected officials should be held to account in in this way, it also believes that federal and provincial elected officials should take similar actions to hold themselves to account.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Corporation of the City of Cambridge supports the Ontario Big City Mayor’s motion on legislative amendments to improve municipal Codes of Conduct and enforcement.
AND THAT this motion be circulated to Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honourable David Lamettithe, Minister of Justice, the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Kate Manson-Smith, Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Scott Pierce, Federation of Canadian Municipalities Acting President, and Colin Best, President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and all Ontario Municipalities.