Bill 95, Ethics and Transparency in Public Matters Act, 2002

Versions

Bill 95 2001

An Act to require open meetings
and more stringent conflict rules
for provincial and municipal boards,
commissions and other public bodies

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

Definition

1. In this Act,

"designated public body" means,

(a) a person or entity listed in Part I of the Schedule to this Act,

(b) a person or entity of a type listed in Part II of the Schedule to this Act,

(d) a person or entity of a type prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under clause 14 (a),

but does not include,

(e) a person or entity prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under clause 14 (b), or

(f) a person or entity of a type prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under clause 14 (b).

Open Meetings

Purpose

2. The purpose of sections 3 to 10 is to provide public acess that is as open as possible to meetings of designated public bodies and their committees and to minutes of those meetings.

Meetings - open to the public

3. (1) Meetings of designated public bodies and committees of designated public bodies shall be open to the public.

Exception

(2) Despite subsection (1), a designated public body or a committee of a designated public body may exclude the public from a meeting or part of a meeting if,

(a) financial, personal or other matters may be disclosed of such a nature that the desirability of avoiding public disclosure of them in the interest of any person affected or in the public interest outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that meetings be open to the public;

(b) a person involved in a civil or criminal proceeding may be prejudiced;

(d) personnel matters will be discussed;

(e) litigation affecting the body or a committee of the body will be discussed or instructions will be given to or opinions received from solicitors for the body or committee of the body;

(f) matters prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under clause 14 (c) will be discussed; or

(g) the body or committee of the body will deliberate whether to exclude the public from a meeting or part of a meeting, and the deliberation will consider whether one or more of clauses (a) through (f) are applicable to the meeting or part of the meeting.

Offence - exclusion from meeting

4. (1) If a designated public body or a committee of a designated public body excludes the public from a meeting or part of a meeting and none of the circumstances listed in clauses 3 (2) (a) to (g) apply, each member of the body or the committee who was in attendance at the meeting or part of the meeting is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $1,000.

Defence

(2) A member of a designated public body or of a committee of a designated public body is not guilty of an offence under subsection (1) if he or she,

(a) objected on the record to excluding the public from the meeting; or

(b) did not object on the record to excluding the public from the meeting in the good faith belief that one of the circumstances listed in subsection 3 (2) applied.

Minutes

5. (1) Minutes of meetings of a designated public body or committee of a designated public body shall,

(a) be clear, concise and neutral;

(b) contain sufficient detail to adequately inform the public of the main subject-matters considered by the designated public body or committee of the designated public body and the decisions made by the body or the committee; and

Exception

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to minutes regarding meetings or parts of meetings from which the public was excluded in accordance with subsection 3 (2).

Rules

6. (1) By the end of its third meeting after this Act comes into force, each designated public body, having regard to the purpose set out in section 2, shall make rules respecting,

(a) how public notice of its meetings and the meetings of its committees shall be given;

(b) how the minutes of its meetings and the meetings of its committees shall be made available to the public; and

Amendment or revision of rules

(2) A designated public body may amend the rules made under subsection (1) at any time.

Compliance with rules

7. By the end of its third meeting after this Act comes into force, a designated public body shall appoint a member of the body to be the person responsible for overseeing compliance by the body and by committees of the body with section 5 and with the rules made under section 6.

Offence - minutes and rules

8. A person appointed for a designated public body under section 7 or under subsection 10 (3) who fails to be reasonably diligent in overseeing compliance with section 5 and the rules made under section 6 is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $1,000.

Complaint re: failure to make rules

9. (1) Any person who believes that a designated public body has failed to make its rules in accordance with section 6 may complain in writing to the Attorney General.

Request for copy of rules

(2) Upon receiving a complaint under subsection (1), the Attorney General may request that the designated public body provide a copy of its rules to the Attorney General.

Failure to comply with request

(3) If the designated public body does not comply with the Attorney General's request within 30 days or such longer time as the Attorney General considers reasonable in the circumstances, the Attorney General may make the rules for the body and for all purposes, including the purposes of section 8, those rules have the same effect as if they were made by the body under section 6.

Amendment or substitution of rules

(4) If the designated public body provides a copy of the rules to the Attorney General and the Attorney General is satisfied that the rules made by the body under section 6 reflect a lack of reasonable regard for the purpose set out in section 2, he or she may amend the rules or substitute new rules and for all purposes, including the purposes of section 8, the amended or substituted rules have the same effect as if they were made by the body under section 6.

Failure to appoint person responsible

10. (1) Any person who believes that a designated public body has failed to comply with section 7 may complain in writing to the Attorney General.

Request for appointment

(2) Upon receiving a complaint made under subsection (1), the Attorney General may request that the designated public body make the appointment required under section 7 and provide minutes of the appointment to the Attorney General.

Failure to comply with request

(3) If the designated public body does not comply with the Attorney General's request within 30 days or such longer time as the Attorney General considers reasonable in the circumstances, the Attorney General may appoint a member of the body to be the person responsible for overseeing compliance by the body and by committees of the body with section 5 and the rules made under section 6.

Appointment by AG

(4) The appointment made by the Attorney General under subsection (3) may be made by naming an individual or by referring to an office or position on the designated public body or committee of the designated public body, and for all purposes, including the purposes of section 8, the appointment has the same effect as if it were made by the body under section 7.

Conflict of Interest

Personal interest

11. (1) A personal interest of a member of a designated public body or a committee of a designated body does not include an interest,

(a) that is of general application;

(b) that affects the member as one of a broad class of persons;

(c) that concerns the remuneration, allowance, honorarium or benefits of members of the designated public body or the committee of the designated body;

(d) that is so remote or insignificant in its nature that it cannot reasonably be regarded as likely to influence the member; or

(e) that is of a type prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council in a regulation made under subsection 14 (d).

Same

(2) A personal interest of a member of a designated public body includes a personal interest of a parent, spouse, same-sex partner or child of the member.

Duty of member with conflict

(3) Where a member of a designated public body has a personal interest in a matter and is present at a meeting of the body at which the matter is to be considered, the member,

(a) shall, before any consideration of the matter at the meeting, disclose the personal interest and its general nature;

(b) shall not take part in the discussion of or vote on any question in respect of the matter; and

Absence from meeting

(4) Where a meeting or part of a meeting is not open to the public, in addition to complying with the requirements of subsection (3), the member shall absent herself or himself from the meeting or the part of the meeting during which the matter is being considered.

Disclosure in minutes

(5) A disclosure of interest made under this section shall, where made at a meeting that is open to the public, be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

Same

(6) A disclosure of interest made under this section shall, where made at a meeting that is not open to the public, be recorded in the minutes of the next meeting that is open to the public.

Disclosure in minutes without detail

(7) The record of the disclosure in the minutes need not include any detail if,

(a) the desirability of avoiding public disclosure of the detail in the interest of any person affected or by the public interest outweighs the public interest in disclosure;

(b) the disclosure of the detail might prejudice a person involved in a civil or criminal proceeding;

(d) the disclosure of the detail would disclose personnel matters;

(e) the disclosure of the detail would disclose matters relating to litigation affecting the designated public body or committee of the designated public body, or instructions given to or opinions received from solicitors for the public body or committee of the designated public body; or

(f) the regulations made under clause 14 (e) provide that the detail need not be recorded in the minutes.

Penalty

12. Each member of a designated public body who knowingly fails to disclose an interest as required by section 11 is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $1,000.

Miscellaneous

Conflict

13. Subject to the regulations made under clause 14 (f), in the event of a conflict between this Act and the regulations made under it and in any other Act or regulations, this Act and the regulations made under it prevail, except to the extent that the other Act or regulations provide for greater openness of meetings, greater accessibilty to minutes of meetings, or stricter controls regarding conflicts of interest.

Regulations

Regulations

14. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,

(a) prescribing persons or entities or types of persons or entities for the purposes of clauses (c) and (d) of the definition of "designated public body" in section 1;

(b) prescribing persons or entities or types of persons or entities for the purposes of clauses (e) and (f) of the definition of "designated public body" in section 1;

(d) prescribing a type of interest which is not a personal interest for the purposes of clause 11 (1) (e);

(e) respecting when and the extent to which a disclosure of interest under section 11 need not be recorded in the minutes; and

(f) providing for the resolution of a conflict between provisions in an Act or regulation other than as provided for by section 13.

Commencement

15. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

16. The short title of this Act is the Ethics and Transparency in Public Matters Act, 2001.

Schedule

PART I

Sched./annexe éthique et transparence des questions d'intérêt public Projet 95 7

1. The following are designated public bodies for the purposes of this Act:

Item number	Name of designated public body	Legislative basis for designated public body
1.	Board of directors of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario	Section 2 of the Alcohol and Gaming Regulation and Public Protection Act, 1996
2.	Assessment Review Board	Section 2 of the Assessment Review Board Act
3.	Building Code Commission	Section 23 of the Building Code Act, 1992
4.	Building Materials Evaluation Commission	Section 28 of the Building Code Act, 1992
5.	Board of directors of the Education Quality and Accountability Office	Section 11 of the Education Quality and Accountability Office Act, 1996
6.	Electrical Safety Authority	Regulations made under the Electricity Act, 1998
7.	Environmental Review Tribunal	Section 1 of the Environmental Review Tribunal Act, 2000
8.	Board of directors of the Independent Electricity Market Operator	Section 4 of the Electricity Act, 1998
9.	Board of directors of the Ontario Electric Services Corporation	Regulations made under section 48 of the Electricity Act, 1998
10.	Board of directors of the Ontario Electricity Generation Corporation	Regulations made under section 48 of the Electricity Act, 1998
11.	Ontario Labour Relations Board	Section 110 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995
12.	Health Professions Appeal and Review Board	Section 1 of the Ministry of Health Appeal and Review Boards Act, 1998
13.	Ontario Energy Board	Section 4 of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998
14.	Ontario Highway Transport Board	Section 2 of the Ontario Highway Transport Board Act
15.	Ontario Municipal Board	Section 4 of the Ontario Municipal Board Act
16.	Assessment Appeals Division of the Ontario Municipal Board	Section 6 of the Ontario Municipal Board Act
17.	Board of directors of the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation	Section 3 of the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation Act, 1997
18.	Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal	Section 157 of the Tenant Protection Act, 1997
19.	Workplace Safety and Insurance Board	Section 159 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997

PART II

2. The following are types of designated public bodies for the purposes of this Act:

Item number	Type of designated public body
1.	A board of directors of an agricultural association, an agricultural society or a horticultural society to which the Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act applies.
2.	A property standards committee established under section 15.6 of the Building Code Act, 1992.
3.	An advisory board appointed by a conservation authority established by or under the Conservation Authorities Act or a predecessor of that Act.
4.	A conservation authority established by or under the Conservation Authorities Act or a predecessor of that Act.
5.	The Board of Directors of the Ontario Development Corporation, the Northern Ontario Development Corporation or the Eastern Ontario Development Corporation, as continued under the Development Corporations Act.
6.	A district social services administration board established under section 3 of the District Social Services Administration Boards Act.
7.	A district school board or school authority as defined in section 1 of the Education Act.
8.	A local board as defined in section 1 of the Farm Products Marketing Act.
9.	A college, or council of a college, of a health profession or group of health professions established or continued under a health profession Act.

10.	A board of health as defined in section 1 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act.
8 Bill 95 ethics and transparency in public matters Sched./annexe 11.	Fence viewers appointed by municipalities to carry out the provisions of the Line Fences Act.
12.	A marketing board as defined in section 1 of the Milk Act.
13.	A board of control established under section 64 or 65 of the Municipal Act.
14.	A commission as established under section 25.3 of the Municipal Act.
15.	A council of a city, town, village, police village, township, county or municipality to which the Municipal Act applies, including a regional, metropolitan, upper-tier, lower-tier or district municipality and the County of Oxford.
16.	A local board as defined in section 1 of the Municipal Affairs Act.
17.	A committee of adjustment constituted under section 44 of the Planning Act.
18.	A land division committee constituted under section 56 of the Planning Act.
19.	A planning advisory committee established under section 8 of the Planning Act.
20.	The board of directors, governors, trustees, commission or other governing body or authority of a hospital to which the Public Hospitals Act applies.
21.	A medical advisory committee established under section 35 of the Public Hospitals Act.
22.	A public library board, a union board, a county library board or a county library co-operative board, or an Ontario library service board established or continued under the Public Libraries Act.
23.	A local board as defined in section 1 of the Regional Municipalities Act.

Annexe

PARTIE I

1. La liste suivante énumère les organismes publics désignés pour l'application de la présente loi :

Numéro de poste	Nom de l'organisme public désigné	Fondement législatif de l'organisme public désigné
1.	Conseil d'administration de la Commission des alcools et des jeux de l'Ontario	Article 2 de la Loi de 1996 sur la réglementation des alcools et des jeux et la protection du public
2.	Commission de révision de l'évaluation foncière	Article 2 de la Loi sur la Commission de révision de l'évaluation foncière
3.	Commission du code du bâtiment	Article 23 de la Loi de 1992 sur le code du bâtiment
4.	Commission d'évaluation des matériaux de construction	Article 28 de la Loi de 1992 sur le code du bâtiment
5.	Conseil d'administration de l'Office de la qualité et de la responsabilité en éducation	Article 11 de la Loi de 1996 sur l'Office de la qualité et de la responsabilité en éducation
6.	Office de la sécurité des installations électriques	Règlements pris en application de la Loi de 1998 sur l'électricité
7.	Tribunal de l'environnement	Article 1 de la Loi de 2000 sur le Tribunal de l'environnement
8.	Conseil d'administration de la Société indépendante de gestion du marché de l'électricité	Article 4 de la Loi de 1998 sur l'électricité
9.	Conseil d'administration de la Société des services d'électricité de l'Ontario	Règlements pris en application de l'article 48 de la Loi de 1998 sur l'électricité
10.	Conseil d'administration de la Société de production d'électricité de l'Ontario	Règlements pris en application de l'article 48 de la Loi de 1998 sur l'électricité
11.	Commission des relations de travail de l'Ontario	Article 110 de la Loi de 1995 sur les relations de travail
12.	Commission d'appel et de révision des professions de la santé	Article 1 de la Loi de 1998 sur les commissions d'appel et de révision du ministère de la Santé
13.	Commission de l'énergie de l'Ontario	Article 4 de la Loi de 1998 sur la Commission de l'énergie de l'Ontario
14.	Commission des transports routiers de l'Ontario	Article 2 de la Loi sur la Commission des transports routiers de l'Ontario
15.	Commission des affaires municipales de l'Ontario	Article 4 de la Loi sur la Commission des affaires municipales de l'Ontario
16.	Division des appels en matière d'évaluation foncière de la Commission des affaires municipales de l'Ontario	Article 6 de la Loi sur la Commission des affaires municipales de l'Ontario
Sched./annexe éthique et transparence des questions d'intérêt public Projet 95 9 17.	Conseil d'administration de la Société ontarienne d'évaluation foncière	Article 3 de la Loi de 1997 sur la Société ontarienne d'évaluation foncière
18.	Tribunal du logement de l'Ontario	Article 157 de la Loi de 1997 sur la protection des locataires
19.	Commission de la sécurité professionnelle et de l'assurance contre les accidents du travail	Article 159 de la Loi de 1997 sur la sécurité professionnelle et l'assurance contre les accidents du travail

PARTIE II

2. La liste suivante énumère les catégories d'organismes publics désignés pour l'application de la présente loi :

Numéro de poste	Catégorie d'organisme public désigné
1.	Un conseil d'administration d'une association agricole, société agricole ou société horticole à laquelle s'applique la Loi sur les organisations agricoles et horticoles.
2.	Un comité des normes foncières créé en vertu de l'article 15.6 de la Loi de 1992 sur le code du bâtiment.
3.	Un conseil consultatif constitué par un office de protection de la nature créé par la Loi sur les offices de protection de la nature ou en vertu de celle-ci, ou d'une loi que cette loi remplace.
4.	Un office de protection de la nature créé par la Loi sur les offices de protection de la nature ou en vertu de celle-ci, ou d'une loi que cette loi remplace.
5.	Le conseil d'administration de la Société de développement de l'Ontario, de la Société de développement du Nord de l'Ontario ou de la Société de développement de l'Est de l'Ontario, maintenu en vertu de la Loi sur les sociétés de développement.
6.	Un conseil d'administration de district des services sociaux créé en vertu de l'article 3 de la Loi sur les conseils d'administration de district des services sociaux.
7.	Un conseil scolaire de district ou une administration scolaire au sens de l'article 1 de la Loi sur l'éducation.
8.	Une commission locale au sens de l'article 1 de la Loi sur la commercialisation des produits agricoles.
9.	Un ordre ou conseil d'un ordre, d'une profession de la santé ou d'un groupe de professions de la santé créé ou maintenu en vertu d'une loi sur une profession de la santé.
10.	Un conseil de santé au sens de l'article 1 de la Loi sur la protection et la promotion de la santé.
11.	Des inspecteurs des clôtures nommés par les municipalités pour exécuter les dispositions de la Loi sur les clôtures de bornage.
12.	Une commission de commercialisation au sens de l'article 1 de la Loi sur le lait.
13.	Un comité de régie créé en vertu de l'article 64 ou 65 de la Loi sur les municipalités.
14.	Une commission établie en vertu de l'article 25.3 de la Loi sur les municipalités.
15.	Un conseil d'une cité, d'une ville, d'un village, d'un village partiellement autonome, d'un canton, d'un comté ou d'une municipalité auquel s'applique la Loi sur les municipalités, y compris une municipalité régionale, une municipalité de communauté urbaine, de district, de palier supérieur ou de palier inférieur et du comté d'Oxford.
16.	Une commission locale au sens de l'article 1 de la Loi sur les affaires municipales.
17.	Un comité de dérogation créé en vertu de l'article 44 de la Loi sur l'aménagement du territoire.
18.	Un comité de morcellement des terres créé en vertu de l'article 56 de la Loi sur l'aménagement du territoire.
19.	Un comité consultatif d'aménagement du territoire créé en vertu de l'article 8 de la Loi sur l'aménagement du territoire.
20.	Un conseil d'administration, une commission ou un autre corps dirigeant d'un hôpital auquel s'applique la Loi sur les hôpitaux publics.
21.	Un comité médical consultatif créé en vertu de l'article 35 de la Loi sur les hôpitaux publics.
22.	Un conseil de bibliothèques publiques, un conseil uni, un conseil de bibliothèques de comté, un conseil de coopérative de bibliothèques de comté ou un conseil du service de bibliothèques de l'Ontario créé ou maintenu en vertu de la Loi sur les bibliothèques publiques.
23.	Une commission locale au sens de l'article 1 de la Loi sur les municipalités régionales.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill would require specified provincial and municipal councils, boards, commissions and other public bodies, as listed in the Schedule to the Bill or as prescribed, to hold meetings which are open to public. The public could only be excluded from meetings of the body if certain types of matters were going to be discussed by the body. Minutes of meetings open to the public would have to be made available to the public in a timely fashion, and would have to contain sufficient detail.

The body would also be required to set rules respecting public notice of its meetings and the meetings of its committees, the availability of minutes to the public and the availability of the body's rules. The body would be required to appoint a person responsible for compliance with the rules. Section 8 would impose a penalty for failure to comply with the requirements for notice, minutes and rules.

The Bill would also impose conflict of interest rules on members of the specified public bodies. Section 12 would impose a penalty for contravention of the conflict of interest provisions.