Municipal local board requirements in Ontario

“local board” means a municipal service board, transportation commission, public library board, board of health, police service board, planning board, or any other board, commission, committee, body or local authority established or exercising any power under any Act with respect to the affairs or purposes of one or more municipalities, excluding a school board and a conservation authority; (“conseil local”)

Section 1 of the Municipal Act

The Courts have found that to be a local board, a body’s activities must be “integral to the day-to-day operations of the business of the municipality.”[3] The Courts have explained that the definition of local board is to be interpreted in a broad and expansive manner, but that a local board will generally not include an ad hoc or informal body, or an investigative or adjudicative body.[4]

Ombudsman Ontario

Municipalities have the power to create or remove local boards

Power to dissolve or change local boards

216 (1) Without limiting sections 9, 10 and 11, those sections authorize a municipality to dissolve or change a local board.

Section 216 of the Municipal Act

Exceptions

• Police Services Board (established by Police Services Act eg. Belleville Police Service Board)
• Public Library Board (established by Public Libraries Act eg. Kingston Library Board and Management)

and:

(a) a society as defined in subsection 2 (1) of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017;

(b) a board of health as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Health Protection and Promotion Act;

(c) a committee of management under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021;

(c.1) Repealed: 2017, c. 10, Sched. 1, s. 13 (1).

(d) a police service board established under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019;

(e) a board as defined in section 1 of the Public Libraries Act;

(f) a corporation established in accordance with section 203;

(g) such other local boards as may be prescribed.  2006, c. 32, Sched. A, ss. 90, 91 (2); 2007, c. 8, s. 218 (4); 2017, c. 10, Sched. 1, s. 13 (1); 2017, c. 14, Sched. 4, s. 23 (2); 2019, c. 1, Sched. 4, s. 33 (6); 2021, c. 39, Sched. 2, s. 16 (3).

Section 216 of the Municipal Act

Examples of local boards

• Local boards (Municipal Service Boards)
  • Mandatory
    • Police Services Board (established by Police Services Act)
    • Library Board (established by Public Libraries Act)
• External agencies
  • Special purpose bodies
    • Conservation Authority (Conservation Authorities Act) eg. Quinte Conservation
    • Waste Management Board eg. Centre & South Hastings Waste Services Board
    • Business Improvements Area Board
    • Economic Development Commission eg. Quinte Economic Development Commission
    • Regional Marketing Board
    • Transit Commission eg. Toronto Transit Commission
    • Parking Authority eg. Toronto Parking Authority
    • Utilities Commission (Ontario Energy Board Act)
    • Arts Council eg. Kingston Arts Council
    • Local roads board
    • Art Gallery of Guelph
    • Board of Trustees of the Elliott
    • Guelph Cemetery Commission
  • Provincially mandated services
    • Social Services & Housing Local Housing Corporation (eg. Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation)
    • Long-Term Care
    • Public Health (Health Protection and Promotion Act) (expenses split 25% municipal, 75% provincial since 2019) (eg. Ottawa Board of Health)
    • Provincial Offenses Board
    • Emergency Medical Services Board
    • Municipal Property Assessment Corporation

What is not a local board?

The following local boards are exempted from the definition of “local board” in subsection 1 (1) of the [Ombudsman Act]:

1.  A society as defined in subsection 2 (1) of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017.

2.  A board of health as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

3.  A committee of management established under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021.

4.  A police service board within the meaning of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019.

5.  A board as defined in section 1 of the Public Libraries Act. O. Reg. 114/15

O. Reg. 114/15 Local Boards

Municipal services corporations are not local boards and therefore not subject to open meeting rules.

Local board requirements

Meetings must be open to the public to attend

Local boards – except police services and library boards – are required to have:

• Procedure Bylaw governing the calling, place and proceedings of meetings
• Meetings that are open to the public, with limited exceptions

Procedure Bylaw must say how public notice of meetings is provided

The procedure by-law shall provide for public notice of meetings.

Section 238 (2.1) of the Municipal Act

Records must be kept, made available upon request

Local boards are required to record their minutes and proceedings at meetings. 

Municipal clerks are required to provide, upon request:

• By-laws and resolutions of the municipality and of its local boards
• Minutes and proceedings of regular, special or committee meetings of local boards
• Records considered at a meeting, except those records considered during that part of a meeting that was closed to the public

Records of local boards can be requested by the public under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Local board annual budget must be submitted to the municipality for review & approval

A board of management shall submit its annual report for the preceding year to council by the date and in the form required by the municipality and the report shall include audited financial statements.

Section 207 of the Municipal Act

Some local boards must have certain policies

The following local boards:

“local board” means,

(a) a local board as defined in section 1, excluding a police service board and a hospital board,

(b) a local services board, a local roads board and any other board, commission or local authority exercising any power with respect to municipal affairs or purposes in unorganized territory, excluding a school board, a hospital board and a conservation authority,

(c) a district social services administration board,

(d) a local housing corporation as defined in the Housing Services Act, 2011, despite clause 26 (b) of that Act, and

(e) any other prescribed body performing a public function.  2001, c. 25, s. 269 (1); 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 112; 2011, c. 6, Sched. 1, s. 187 (3); 2019, c. 1, Sched. 4, s. 33 (10); 2019, c. 14, Sched. 7, s. 14 (2).

must have the following policies:

• Procurement of goods and services
• Sale and other disposition of land
• Hiring of employees

Oversight

Conduct of members: Integrity Commissioner

The municipality’s Integrity Commissioner is responsible for investigating the Code of Conduct, procedures, rules or policies governing the ethical behaviour of local board members.

See: Hamilton’s Code of Conduct for Local Boards

Meeting closed to the public: Ontario Ombudsman

If you believe that a local board meeting or part of a meeting was closed to the public improperly – ie. the reason doesn’t fall within one of the 14 exceptions – you can submit a complaint to the Ontario Ombudsman or the municipality’s appointed independent meetings investigator.

Missing documents required by law: Freedom of Information request

If you can’t find a copy of a bylaw, policy, or other document required by law, (eg. Conflict of Interest Registry), contact your municipal clerk or members of council and politely ask where you might access it, and if does not exist, remind them that it is required.

If they do not or are not able to produce the document, the next step is to submit a Freedom of Information Act request under MFIPPA to obtain a copy of it.

Municipalities may have other policies, procedures or bylaws in place that apply to their local boards.

How to determine if a commission, committee, board or corporation is a local board

File a complaint with Ombudsman Ontario about the municipality, board or corporation so they can investigate.

For example, Ombudsman Ontario investigated a complaint that the Board of Directors for Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit held a meeting on May 26, 2023 that was not open to the public as required by the Municipal Act, 2001 as they did not provide public notice of the date, time or location of the meeting. They found that Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit (SMART) is a shared local board of 10 member municipalities that is subject to the open meeting rules in the Municipal Act, 2001.

Sources

• Understanding the responsibilities of local boards – Government of Ontario (2019)