Yesterday, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack announced during his address at the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference that consultations on Bill 9, Municipal Accountability Act regulations are open.
The proposed Minister's and Lieutenant Governor in Council (LGIC) regulations would:
- Establish a single, standardized municipal code of conduct that would apply to all members of council and certain local boards.
- Create standardized inquiry processes to be followed by municipal integrity commissioners.
- Establish roles and requirements related to education and training for the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (ICO), municipal integrity commissioners, and members of councils and certain local boards.
The consultation includes a document that outlines these proposals in more detail.
The Province is seeking public comments until October 2, 2026, and it is proposed that the regulations, once finalized, would take effect on November 15, 2026, the inauguration day of newly elected municipal councils and school boards.
As we noted in previous updates, Bill 9 is a step forward towards improvements to the accountability framework. However, we remain concerned about gaps in the legislation where more can be done to address the safety and well-being of municipal professionals, especially as regional chairs will be appointed with ‘strong chair’ powers.
The timing of the consultations and the anticipated effective date is unfortunate as municipal staff are managing multiple concurrent priorities including running the municipal and school board elections and implementing new Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) requirements on top of other statutory day-to-day duties. Moreover, municipal administrators will be busy during this time preparing for council orientation and onboarding, which often include elements of the local accountability framework – something that may require changes pending the finalized regulations.
Next Steps
We are reviewing the proposed regulations and will provide further updates as we look to develop our submission to the consultation. Should you have any preliminary feedback or comments that may help inform our submission, please reach out to our policy and government relations team.
As an Association, we are here to support you in ensuring the new framework is in place for the new term of council, while recognizing the important work you do as municipal administrators to navigate and implement ongoing legislative changes.