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Report To: General Government Committee
Date of Meeting: April 7, 2025 Report Number: LGS-006-25
Authored by: June Gallagher, Municipal Clerk
Submitted By: Rob Maciver, Deputy CAO/Solicitor, Legislative Services
Reviewed By: Mary-Anne Dempster, CAO
By-law Number: Resolution Number:
File Number:
Report Subject: Procedural By-law Review Including Repeal/Replace Current By-law
Recommendations:
1.That Report LGS-006-25, and any related delegations or communication items, be
received;
2.That the By-law attached to Report LGS-006-25, as Attachment 1, to repeal and
replace Clarington’s Procedural By-law 2023-033, be approved; and
3.That all interested parties listed in Report LGS-006-25, and any delegations, be
advised of Council’s decision.
GG-078-252025-014
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Report Overview
This report provides information about Staff recommendations to make changes to the
Procedural By-law to improve clarity and efficiency, resulting in repealing and replacing the
current by-law.
1. Background
1.1 Clarington’s current Procedural By-law 2023-033 was enacted following a
comprehensive revision discussed and described in Report LGS-017-23.
1.2 Since then, the current By-law has been amended twice, arising out of the passing of
the Strong Mayors Act (Report LGS-018-24 and By-law 2024-021) and the recent
enactment of the Delegation of Authority By-law 2024-042 (Report LGS-026-24).
1.3 In the intervening period, the Clerk’s Division has encountered several ways in which
the by-law could be amended to further improve clarity and efficiency.
1.4 Additionally, Staff have reviewed other municipalities’ procedural by-laws and several
opportunities for improvement have been recommended.
2. Arranging Meetings
Special Joint Meetings
2.1 Special Council, GG and PD Committee meetings may be called by the Mayor or
Council, but the Joint Committee meeting type is not referenced, so Special Meetings of
this type cannot be called. To allow Special Joint Committee Meetings to be called, Staff
recommend the following wording be added following the words “PD Committee” within
subsections 4.4.1 and 4.4.2:
“, or Joint Meeting.”
Planning Public Meetings
2.2 Subsection 7.10.2 states:
“Public meetings, under the Planning Act, shall be limited to two per Planning
and Development Committee meeting, unless otherwise agreed between the
Municipal Clerk and the Director of Planning and Infrastructure Services.”
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2.3 Other than some minor input to the choreography of meetings, there is nothing that the
Municipal Clerk can lend to the decision. Given the current “planning landscape”, the
Deputy CAO, Planning and Infrastructure is recommending that the limit be changed
from two to three public meetings unless otherwise determined by the Deputy CAO,
Planning and Infrastructure.
Changing Meeting Dates, Times and Locations
2.4 Subsection 4.16.1 allows that meetings may be cance lled by the Clerk in certain
circumstances. However, there is no provision to move a meeting (as was the recent
case of moving a budget meeting) or change the time or location. The result is that the
matter has to go to Council or Committee to make these changes.
2.5 To make setting, and changing, meetings more streamlined, Staff are recommending
that subsection 4.16.1 be changed to ensure wording that the meeting date, time, or
location may be moved or changed by the Clerk in certain circumstances.
2.6 Other slight wording changes are being recommended in subsection s 4.16.1 and
4.16.2.
3. Delegations
Definition
3.1 Clarington’s Procedural By-law defines a “delegation” as follows:
“Delegation means a person desiring to verbally present information on matters
of fact, or to make a request to Council or Committee, as the case may be .”
3.2 Members of Council are meant to receive delegations and participate in debate, not be
delegations. Staff are recommending that, for clarity to Staff when creating agendas and
for clarity to Members of Council, the following wording be added to the above
definition, after the word “person”:
“, excluding a Member of Council,”
Speaking to another Delegation
3.3 The current subsection 7.5.9 prohibits a delegation from speaking to another delegation
as a way of circumventing other rules. However, subsection 7.5.13 speaks about
allowing a delegation to speak to an item that is listed on the agenda. Therefore, these
two sections can contradict each other.
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3.4 To provide a smoother meeting, the delegation’s correspondence is added to the
delegation, rather than a separate item on the agenda. There have been instances
where a delegation has requested to speak to the same matter of another delegation
and the question arises whether this is allowed (because it used to be a
correspondence item on the agenda, and they could have spoken to the item). This
takes away the public’s right to speak to a matter after the original agenda is published,
and that was not the intent of this section.
3.5 As a result, Staff are recommending that the following current subsection 7.5.9 be
deleted. This will allow further delegations to be added to the agenda to speak to a
matter that another delegation is speaking to. The intended benefit is varying or differing
opinions.
“No further delegations may be made in respect of a delegation placed on an
agenda in accordance with this Sub-section. For clarity, a delegation cannot be a
delegation to another delegation as a way of circumventing other rules outlined in
this by-law, but may speak to attachments and links associated with other
delegations, as long as it is in accordance with other delegation rules.”
Restricted Matters
3.6 Subsection 2.6.1 lists the restrictions on agenda items where “the Municipal Clerk shall
refuse, at the request of a member of the public, to place on the agenda, and in an
ECCIP.” However, the way it is worded means that Staff or a Member of Council can
place restricted items on an agenda. To remedy this, Staff are recommending the
removal of the words “at the request of a member of the public” and adding the words
“unless the CAO determines it is necessary.” This will allow certain items that require
Council decision or discussion, such as a litigation matter, to be added to the agenda,
as needed.
3.7 Additionally, the current subsection 7.5.10 states that “no delegation may speak to
matters described in subsection 2.6.” For clarity, Staff are recommending that the
following wording be added to proposed subsection 7.5.9:
“The delegation request will not be added, or noted, in the Agenda.”
3.8 Since there is a broad approach to restrictions on agenda items, Staff are
recommending removing references to subsection 2.6 in subsections 7.14.9 and 8.4 .
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Not Listed on the Agenda
3.9 Current subsection 7.5.13 details what is to become of delegations for matters not listed
on the agenda:
“A delegation, not listed on the agenda, shall not be heard without the consent of
at least 2/3 majority of the Members present and shall be pertaining to an item
listed on the Agenda. If the delegation is not pertaining to an item listed on the
Agenda a suspension of the rules (3/4 vote) is required for the delegation to be
heard.”
3.10 However, there is no clear guidance on what happens when the request is made in the
above circumstance. In the past, Staff have added the name and noted that a
suspension of rules will be required.
3.11 This puts Council in an awkward position of being obligated to add the delegation. To
make it clear to the public that there is no guarantee that they will be added; and to
provide clarity to Staff, Staff are recommending that the following wording be added to
the end of subsection 7.5.13:
“The delegation request will not be added , or noted, in the Agenda.”
Speaking Twice at Council
3.12 Subsection 7.6.2 of the Procedural by-law prohibits delegations from persons who
spoke to the same matter at a Standing Committee meeting:
“Notwithstanding Sub-section 7.6.1, Delegations shall not be permitted to speak
to a matter that was considered at a Standing Committee, or is the subject of a
Staff report or matter included under Unfinished Business included on the
Council agenda, where the Delegation spoke to the item at a Standing
Committee meeting, including a Public Meeting, which is being reported to
Council.”
3.13 However, if a delegation spoke to a matter at a Council meeting and the matter was
referred to a future Council meeting, there is no restriction on speaking a second time to
the matter.
3.14 Therefore, to be consistent with the approach of a Standing Committee, Staff are
recommending that “or Council” be added to subsection 7.6.2 following the words
“Standing Committee.” This is in line with preventing a person from speaking at
Standing Committee and at Council regarding the same matter.
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3.15 It should be noted that there is no such restriction on speaking to the same matter
multiple times at a Standing Committee meeting, prior to a decision of Council.
Therefore, Staff recommend that Council refer matters back to a Standing Committee
instead of a future Council meeting, as much as possible, if the intent is to hear
delegations on the matter again.
4. Presentations
4.1 Subsection 7.4.1 explains when presentations are allowed. However, it was using
vague terms such as “matters of significance” and “deemed necessary by the Municipal
Clerk”. It was also missing “requested by Staff”. To provide clarity, Staff are
recommending that subsection 7.4.1 be deleted and replaced with the following and
renumbered accordingly:
“Provided that the request has been submitted to the Municipal Clerk prior to
the Agenda Deadline, in the form determined by the Municipal Clerk, a
person, organization, corporation, or appointed officer may be permitted to be
listed under the “Presentation Section”:
7.4.2 Presentations shall include only the following:
a) Awards or recognitions;
b) Presentations from senior levels of government;
c) Presentations from a member of Staff, in their professional capacity;
d) Presentations requested by a Member of Council, or Staff; and
e) Presentations as required by legislation.
5. Chair
Chair of Joint Meetings
5.1 Subsection 5.1.1 (b) outlines who chairs the General Government Committee meetings,
but there is no clear indication of who chairs the Joint Meetings (i.e. General
Government Committee and Planning Committee joint meetings). Staff are
recommending the addition of subsection 5.1.1(e) indicating that the Mayor chair Joint
Meetings unless unavailable or has designated another Member of Council.
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Chair in Person
5.2 With more technology, comes changes in how meetings are run. Recently, in 202 4, new
technology was introduced called, “Request to Speak”. This allows the Chair to see, and
manage, which Member of Council will speak next, regardless of whether the speaker is
remote or in-person, providing a level playing field for remote speakers. As this
technology is assigned to the Chair, it is installed on the computer in front of the Chair’s
seat. Therefore, the Chair cannot use the “Request to Speak” function if they are
remote.
5.3 The ”Duties of the Chair” already includes a note that the Chair shall preside in person
for public meetings. For the above reason, and to ensure good communication with the
Clerk and other Staff, Staff are recommending that the Procedural By-law be changed
as follows resulting in the requirement for the Chair to preside in person at all types of
meetings:
Delete the following words from subsection 3.2(o):
“Where the agenda includes a public meeting,”
Add the following words to subsection 3.2(o):
“unless the meeting is fully virtual.”
5.4 In the event that the meeting is fully virtual, the “Request to Speak” function will
probably not be used by the Chair.
6. Agendas
Earlier Agenda Publication for Standing Committees
6.1 To allow Members of Council and the public to have a longer time to review the agenda
and ask questions of Staff (or decide to be a delegation), Staff are recommending
changes to the GGC and PDC agenda publication schedule, starting with the meetings
in September 2025.
6.2 Council agendas are not moving, as it would mean the Council agenda would be
published prior to the PDC meeting. The Council Agenda Deadline remains noon on the
Wednesday prior and the Council Agenda Update Deadline remains 3:30 p.m. on the
day prior to the meeting (usually Friday).
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6.3 The Standing Committee Agenda Deadline will change to noon on the second Thursday
prior to the GGC and PDC meeting (currently it is the Wednesday prior to the meeting,
so, 6 days earlier). The publication of the Agenda will happen as soon after the noon
deadline as possible but will be prior to “Friday at noon”. This earlier Agenda Deadline
will also apply to New Business items, including ECCIP items, put forward by Members
of Council.
6.4 The Agenda Update Deadline will change to noon on the Wednesday prior to the GGC
and PDC meeting (currently it is the Friday prior to the meeting, so, 2 days earlier). This
leaves time for Members of Council to ask questions of staff on any changes on the
Agenda Update.
6.5 To correspond with the above changes, the Agenda Deadline and Agenda Update
Deadline definitions have been updated.
Closed Meetings
6.6 Subsection 4.12.4 indicates that Committee/Council shall retire to the Ante Room, and
references “vacating the room.” With the changes in the way that Committee/Council
handles Closed Session and technology changes, this section needs to be updated.
Staff are recommending that subsections 4.12.4(a) and (b) be deleted and (c) be
updated to indicate that only those permitted in the meeting room or electronic meeting
be allowed to stay.
Headings
6.7 The current Procedural By-law includes the following wording in subsection 6.4.2 for
Special Meetings:
“When preparing an agenda, the Clerk may include or exclude any headings that
have no items after the Agenda Update Deadline.”
6.8 There is nothing that explicitly allows the Clerk to exclude any headings that have no
items after the Agenda Update Deadline for Standing Committees and Meetings of
Council. For example, we may not have “Business Arising from Procedural Notice of
Motion” and removing the headings will make the agenda cleaner. Therefore, Staff are
recommending that subsection 6.1.1 (and other sections be renumbered accordingly)
be added as follows:
“When preparing an Agenda, the Clerk may exclude any headings that have no
items after the Agenda Update Deadline.”
6.9 Durham Region has similar wording to the above.
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6.10 Currently, at the Council meetings, the Moment of Reflection is said immediately after
Call to Order, and it is followed by the Land Acknowledgement Statement. The general
norm in the industry is to have the Land Acknowledgment first. In order to show the
greatest respect for the Land Acknowledgement Statement, Staff are recommending
that the Land Acknowledgement be switched to be prior to the Moment of Reflection.
This will only affect Council meetings, as they are the only ones with the Moment of
Reflection.
Agenda Items on Standing Committees
6.11 There are instances where a report, or matter, does not fall under the strict description
of the mandate of one of the Standing Committees, but it is more appropriate to
consider the matter within that Standing Committee. For instance, if there is a Planning
and Infrastructure report regarding a park – it would be more appropriate for a General
Government Committee meeting than a Planning and Development Committee
meeting. To allow more flexibility, and clarity, about which Committee considers
matters, Staff are recommending the addition of subsection 5.2.2:
“Notwithstanding the mandates of the Standing Committees, the Municipal Clerk
may place a matter on either Standing Committee, where it is deemed more
appropriate by the CAO.”
Consent Agenda – Sub-Headings
6.12 The current by-law is the first Clarington Procedural By-law where we formalized a
“consent agenda.” As Council works with this change, there will be “tweaks” that could
assist with the consent agenda.
6.13 In subsections 6.2.1, 6.3.1, and 6.4.1, the headings are defined for Council and the
Standing Committees. Under the “Consent Agenda” section, there are requirements for
sub-headings (i.e. Minutes, Communications, Staff Reports, By-laws, etc.). By including
these sub-headings, it forces the number of the agenda item to be quite lengthy. Staff
are recommending that the requirement for the sub-heading be removed, and
subsection 7.11.1 have words added to describe the type of items that might be in the
Consent Agenda.
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Unfinished Business
6.14 Subsection 7.18 provides for an unfinished business section at Standing Committees
and Council and defines unfinished business as:
“Any matters presented, considered, referred, tabled, or deferred, or any items
not otherwise disposed of through the consideration of an agenda matter, shall
be disposed of during this portion of the Meeting.”
6.15 Now that we have a Consent Agenda and “Items for Separate Discussion”, there is no
need for unfinished business (as the items will be coming back as a report/memo to be
placed on the Consent Agenda or under “Items for Separate Discussion” for resolutions
that are tabled to the meeting). Therefore, Staff are recommending the removal of the
“Unfinished Business” agenda item.
Time Specific Items
6.16 Currently, the only type of item that the Municipal Clerk can specify a start time for is a
presentation, in subsection 7.4.4. There may be instances when a specific non-
presentation item needs to be at a set time in order to let the public know when it will be
discussed.
6.17 Staff are recommending that this ability to specify a time be broadened and are
recommending the addition of subsections 6.1.2 and 6.1.3 and the deletion of
subsections 7.4.4 and 7.4.5 to allow for this ability.
ECCIP Pulled Items
6.18 Regarding Members of Council requesting that an item on the Electronic Council
Communication Information Package (ECCIP) be added to the agenda, subsection
7.14.9 states:
“The pulled item will be included on the agenda of the appropriate Standing
Committee if submitted to the Clerk prior to the Agenda deadline and if it is not
restricted under section 2.5. For clarity, this will not be the meeting three
calendar days from when the ECCIP was published, but rather a future meeting.”
6.19 Staff are recommending removing the reference to the restricted items (as it is taken
care of in a broader manner and this is redundant).
6.20 There is very little detail about what Staff is to do with “pulled ECCIP items” if they come
in after the Agenda Deadline. Therefore, Staff are recommending adding three sections,
following subsection 7.14.9, that mirror the rules for New Business (because a pulled
ECCIP item is effectively a New Business item.)
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6.21 Clarity has also been added within section 7.14.7 that a seconder is required at the time
of submitting a request to add an ECCIP item with a motion to the agenda.
7. Motions
“No Seconder” Motions
7.1 Upon review of the Region of Durham Procedural By-law, and some of the area
municipalities’ procedural by-laws, Staff recommend removing all options to add a
motion to the agenda without a seconder (with some exceptions). This will also be
applied to any new sections of the Procedural By-law that involves adding motions to an
agenda (see s. 7.4 below). This provides efficiency of the meeting and ensures that
there are at least two Members willing to discuss the motion, which is consistent with
the rules for moving a motion at the meeting. Motions are not on the floor for
consideration and are not recorded in the minutes if no Member seconds the motion (s.
9.12.5 of the Procedural By-law). It also provides consistency within the procedures.
7.2 Accordingly, Staff have changed the following subsections from “no seconder” to “a
seconder shall be required”:
Subsection 7.14.7 (a request by a Member to place an ECCIP item on the
agenda)
Subsection 7.16.7 (New Business item)
7.3 Staff are not recommending the requirement for a seconder on the Strong Mayors
Powers subsection (9.12.4(b) and 9.12.4(c)) as they are covered under the Municipal
Act.
Motion from Members Before Agenda Update Deadline
7.4 Staff are recommending that the following new subsections 9.12.13 to 9.12.16 be added
to clarify how to handle motions that are submitted by Members for inclusion on the
Agenda:
“If the Clerk receives, prior to the Agenda Update Deadline, a motion from a
Member of Council regarding an item on the agenda, the Clerk shall place the
submitted motion on the Agenda under the section, “Items for Separate
Discussion”.
A seconder shall be required at the time of submission to the Clerk.
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If the Member who submitted the motion is not present at the meeting, and no
other Member moves the submitted motion, the submitted motion shall not be
considered.
If multiple motions are received regarding the same item:
a) Duplicates of a recommended or existing motion will not be
accepted or added to the agenda.
b) Motions will be placed on the Agenda in the order received and
considered at the Meeting in that order.”
7.5 The above requirement for a seconder provides consistency with the recommendation
in the previous section.
7.6 This does not prohibit Members from moving a different motion at the time of the
meeting. However, it encourages Members to submit their motions ahead of time which
increases transparency and notice to other Members, Staff , and the public. It also
provides clarity on how Staff are to handle multiple motions that might be received for
the same item.
Motions to Refer and Defer
7.7 Currently, the Procedural By-law indicates that a motion to refer can be debated but is
not specific on what can be debated. It was always intended to limit the debate to the
procedural matter, not the substance. To provide clarity, Staff are recommending that
the following words be added to proposed subsection 9.12.19(d):
“time/place/instructions only”.
7.8 Similarly, Staff are recommending that the following words be added to subsection
9.12.22(d): “time/place only”.
8. Decorum and Conduct
Recess without Motion – Due to Threat
8.1 Although, fortunately, the Municipality of Clarington has not experienced too many
instances of disruptions, Staff are recommending that the following subsection 3.2 (m)
[and subsequent sections be renumbered accordingly] be added to the duties of the
Chair, to provide a quick response in the event that the situation occurs:
“To recess the Meeting, without Motion, for a specified time if there is a threat or
imminent threat to the health or safety of any person, or if there is a possibility of
public disorder;”
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Political Forum
8.2 Although subsection 2.6.1(i) under “Agenda Restrictions” states “involves candidates,
political parties, or nominees for a political party”, there is a concern that speakers may
stray to other topics once they have been added to the agenda and the meeting starts.
Subsection 7.9.1 (c) under Conduct of Delegations and Presentations” section helps
this to a certain extent: “delegations and presenters shall not speak on any subject o ther
than the subject for which they have given notice to address Council/Committee.” In
order to strengthen these sections, Staff are recommending the addition of the following
words as subsection 7.9.1 (i) “use a meeting as a forum to speak on, or addres s, any
matter relating to a campaign”. The same wording has been added as subsection 9.1.1
(f) under “Conduct of Members of Council or Members of Committees”. A definition of
“campaign” has also been added. The intent of these changes is not to restrict
advocacy related to other levels of government outside of election periods.
If a Member Refuses to Leave
8.3 Subsection 9.1.1(d) states that:
“No member shall disobey the Rules of Procedure or a decision of the Chair, on
questions of Points of Order or procedure or upon the interpretation of the Rules
of Procedure except where the ruling of the Chair is reversed by Council
pursuant to Sub-section 10.6.2. If a Member persists in any such disobedience
after having been called to order by the Chair, the Chair shall forthwith order the
Member to vacate the Council Chambers or room in which the Meeting is being
held, or remove the Member from an electronic meeting but if the Member
apologizes they may, by a majority vote of the Members, be permitted to retake
their seat.”
8.4 There is also subsection 3.2(j), the responsibilities of the Chair:
“To call by name, any Member refusing to comply with this Procedural By-law
and to order the Member to vacate the Council Chamber, or the place of
Meeting, as the case may be,”
8.5 The question has been raised “What if the Member doesn’t leave?” Ultimately, the Chair
is responsible for enforcing “on all occasions, the observance of order and decorum
among the Members.” To assist, and guide the Chair, Staff are recommending the
addition of options available to the Chair in subsection 3.2(j), “in the event that the
Member does not vacate:
If the Member is present in person, the Chair may:
o stop recognizing them to speak,
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o turn off their microphone,
o ask for a recess,
o call Security to remove the Member, or
o direct the Municipal Clerk to seek the appropriate assistance from the
Durham Regional Police.
If the Member is present electronically, the Chair may
o stop recognizing them to speak,
o turn off their microphone,
o ask for a recess, or
o cause them to be removed from the electronic meeting.”
8.6 To acknowledge electronic meetings, Staff are recommending that 3.2(j) be changed to
“vacate the meeting room or electronic meeting”.
9. Housekeeping Items
9.1 There are several grammatical and spelling changes, errors with section references,
and other minor changes (shown in the attached redline version) that Staff are
recommending. The following are some examples:
Change the title of “Director of Planning and Infrastructure Services” to
“Deputy CAO, Planning and Infrastructure”
Removing unnecessary references to specific sections of the by-law (to
improve ease of reading and to make future updates easier).
Subsection 3.4.3 was recently added to acknowledge that the Mayor does not
need to leave the Chair if they were introducing a “motion” using Strong
Mayor powers. However, it should have been broader because it can be any
of the Strong Mayor powers (i.e. introducing a by-law or a budget). Therefore,
Staff are recommending that 3.4.3 be changed to replace “introducing a
motion under the” with “exercising any”.
Creation of a new subsection 6.1 (General Agenda Matters) and moving
sections that were duplicated on each of the Committee and Council agenda
sections up into the new general subsection.
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10. Financial Considerations
Not Applicable.
11. Strategic Plan
L.1.3: Empower staff to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness .
12. Climate Change
Not Applicable.
13. Concurrence
Not Applicable.
14. Conclusion
It is respectfully recommended that Committee approve the changes recommended by
Staff to Clarington’s Procedural By-law, including the repeal of the current by-law. If
approved, these changes will come into effect following the passing of the by-law,
except for the changes to the agenda publication dates, which will begin with the
September 2025 meetings.
Staff Contact: June Gallagher, Municipal Clerk, jgallagher@clarington.net and John Paul
Newman, Deputy Clerk, jnewman@clarington.net
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Draft Procedural By-law (redlined version for illustrative purposes)
Interested Parties:
There are no interested parties to be notified of Council's decision.
i
Attachment 1 to
Report LGS-006-25
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Municipality of
Clarington
Procedural By-law
2025-xxx
As of April XX, 2025
The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington
Procedural By-law 2025-0xx
i
Table of Contents
Section 1 – Definitions and Interpretation .............................................. 5
Section 2 – General Provisions ............................................................. 10
2.1 Applicability ................................................................................................... 10
2.2 Suspension of Rules and Policies ................................................................. 10
2.3 Issue not Addressed ..................................................................................... 11
2.4 General Principles ......................................................................................... 11
2.5 Electronic Participation .................................................................................. 11
2.6 Agenda Restrictions ...................................................................................... 12
Section 3 – Duties of the Mayor and Council ........................................ 12
3.1 Duties of the Mayor ....................................................................................... 12
3.2 Duties of the Chair ........................................................................................ 13
3.3 Appointment of Deputy Mayor ....................................................................... 14
3.4 Participation of Chair in Debate ..................................................................... 14
3.5 Duties of a Member of Council ...................................................................... 15
Section 4 – Meetings .............................................................................. 15
4.1 Place of Regular Meetings ............................................................................ 15
4.2 Regular Meetings Schedule .......................................................................... 15
4.3 Notice of Regular Meetings ........................................................................... 16
4.4 Special Meetings ........................................................................................... 16
4.5 Notice of Special Meetings ............................................................................ 16
4.6 Joint Meeting ................................................................................................. 17
4.7 Emergency Special Meeting .......................................................................... 17
4.8 First/Inaugural Meeting of Council ................................................................. 17
4.9 Seating in Council Chambers ........................................................................ 17
4.10 Quorum ......................................................................................................... 18
4.11 Meetings Open to the Public ......................................................................... 18
4.12 Closed Meetings ........................................................................................... 18
4.13 Length of Meetings and Scheduled Break .................................................... 19
4.14 Portable Electronic Devices .......................................................................... 20
4.15 Video Recording of Council and Committee Meetings .................................. 20
4.16 Cancellation or Changes to Meetings ........................................................... 20
The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington
Procedural By-law 2025-0xx
ii
Section 5 – Committees ......................................................................... 21
5.1 General ......................................................................................................... 21
5.2 Exceptions ..................................................................................................... 21
5.3 GG Committee Mandate ............................................................................... 22
5.4 GG Committee Reporting to Council ............................................................. 22
5.5 PD Committee Mandate ................................................................................ 22
5.6 PD Committee Reporting to Council ............................................................. 22
Section 6 – Agendas and Minutes ......................................................... 22
6.1 General ......................................................................................................... 22
6.2 Council Agenda ............................................................................................. 23
6.3 General Government Committee Agenda ..................................................... 24
6.4 Planning and Development Committee ......................................................... 24
6.5 Special Meeting Agendas.............................................................................. 25
6.6 Addendum ..................................................................................................... 25
6.7 Meeting Minutes ............................................................................................ 26
Section 7 – Agenda Item Description .................................................... 26
7.1 Call to Order .................................................................................................. 26
7.2 Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest .................................................................... 27
7.3 Announcements ............................................................................................ 28
7.4 Presentations ................................................................................................ 28
7.5 Delegations ................................................................................................... 30
7.6 Delegations - To Council ............................................................................... 32
7.7 Disposition of Items ....................................................................................... 32
7.8 Special Meetings ........................................................................................... 33
7.9 Conduct of Delegations and Presenters ........................................................ 33
7.10 Public Meetings ............................................................................................. 34
7.11 Consent Agenda ........................................................................................... 34
7.12 Items for Separate Discussion ...................................................................... 34
7.13 Consideration of Minutes .............................................................................. 34
7.14 Communications ........................................................................................... 35
7.15 Staff Reports and Staff Memos ..................................................................... 37
7.16 New Business ............................................................................................... 37
7.17 Business Arising from Procedural Notices of Motion ..................................... 38
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7.18 Confidential Items ......................................................................................... 39
7.19 By-laws.......................................................................................................... 39
Section 8 – Petitions ............................................................................... 40
Section 9 – Rules of Debate and Conduct ............................................ 40
9.1 Conduct of Members of Council or Members of Committees ........................ 40
9.2 Address the Chair ......................................................................................... 41
9.3 Order of Speaking ......................................................................................... 41
9.4 Point of Privilege ........................................................................................... 42
9.5 Point of Order ................................................................................................ 42
9.6 Appeal of Ruling of Chair .............................................................................. 42
9.7 Members Speaking ....................................................................................... 43
9.8 Motion Read .................................................................................................. 43
9.9 Speak Once - Reply ...................................................................................... 43
9.10 Time Limit ...................................................................................................... 43
9.11 Questions ...................................................................................................... 43
9.12 Motions.......................................................................................................... 43
Reading ......................................................................................................... 43
Withdrawn ..................................................................................................... 44
Seconding ..................................................................................................... 44
Motion Ruled Out of Order ............................................................................ 44
Not within jurisdiction of Council .................................................................... 44
Motions Without Notice and Without Leave................................................... 45
Motion in Writing ........................................................................................... 45
Priority of Disposition .................................................................................... 45
Motion to Receive for Information or With Thanks ........................................ 45
Motion to Alter the Agenda ............................................................................ 46
Motion to Refer .............................................................................................. 47
Motion to Defer .............................................................................................. 48
Motion to Amend ........................................................................................... 48
Motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted ......................................... 49
Motion to Call the Vote .................................................................................. 50
Motion to Table ............................................................................................. 50
Motion to Divide ............................................................................................ 51
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Motion to Rescind ......................................................................................... 52
Motion to Reconsider .................................................................................... 52
Motion to Suspend the Rules of Procedure ................................................... 53
Motion to Recess .......................................................................................... 54
Motion to Adjourn .......................................................................................... 54
9.13 Voting on Motions ......................................................................................... 56
Unrecorded Vote ........................................................................................... 56
Recorded Vote .............................................................................................. 57
9.14 Conduct of the Audience ............................................................................... 57
Section 10 - Implementation .................................................................. 58
Procedural By-law
5
The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington
By-law 2025-0xx
Being a by-law to govern the proceedings of the Council of the
Municipality of Clarington, its General Government Committee, its
Planning and Development Committee, and Advisory Committees and
Boards, and to repeal By-law 2023-033.
Whereas Section 238 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, requires Council to
adopt a procedure by-law for governing the calling, place, proceedings of meetings and
for public notice of meetings;
The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1 – Definitions and Interpretation
1.1 SHORT TITLE: This By-law may be cited as the “Procedural By-law”.
1.2 Unless the context otherwise requires, in this Procedural By-law the words
used in the singular includes the plural, and vice versa.
1.3 For the purposes of this By-law, unless stated otherwise or the context
requires a different meaning:
Agenda Deadline means 12:00 noon on the Wednesday preceding the meeting until
August, 2025. Effective sStarting with the September, 2025 meetings, means 12:00
noon on the second Thursday prior to the GG and PD Committee meetings, and 12:00
noon on the Wednesday preceding the Council meeting, unless determined differently
by the Municipal Clerk for the purposes of a Special meeting, etc.
Agenda Update Deadline means one hour prior to the close of business on the
business day prior to the meeting until August, 2025. ffective sStarting with the
September,September, 2025 meetings, means 12:00 noon on the Wednesday
preceding the GG and PD Committee meetings, and one hour prior to the close of
business on the business day prior to the meeting for Council meetings, unless
determined differently by the Municipal Clerk for the purposes of a Special meeting, etc.
Campaign means any activity by, or on behalf of a Candidate, political party,
constituency association, Registered Third Party, or question on a ballot that has the
purpose of supporting, promoting, or opposing.
Candidate shall have the same meaning as in the Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2000, the
Election Act, R.S.O. 1990, or the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, as applicable, and shall
be deemed to include a person or an agent for a registered person seeking to influence
another person to vote for or against any candidate, question, or by-law submitted to the
electors.
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Chair:
Council Chair means the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, or the Member of Council appointed to
act as Chair during the absence of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for a Meeting or a
portion of a Meeting. While acting as Chair the Member shall exercise all the powers
and responsibilities of the Mayor under this Procedural By-law, except for any Strong
Mayor powers.
In the case of the GG Committee, Chair means the Council member appointed as the
Chair for that timeframe, as provided for in this Procedural By-law.
In the case of the PD Committee, Chair means the member appointed as the Chair of
the Planning and Infrastructure Services DepartmentPD Committee, as provided for in
this Procedural By-law.
Committee means a Committee of Council and includes Standing Committees, or
sub-committees of the Standing Committees.
Consent Agenda means the portion of the agenda where items are approved in a
single motion without debate, subject to the agreement of all Members.
Consent Resolution means two or more items that are approved in a single motion
without debate.
Council means the Council of the Municipality of Clarington.
Councillor means a person elected, or appointed, as a Member of Clarington Council
but does not include the Mayor.
Debate means the discussion between two or more persons, on the merits of the
Motion under consideration.
Delegation means a person, excluding a Member of Council, desiring to verbally
present information on matters of fact, or to make a request to Council or Committee, as
the case may be.
Deputy Mayor means the Member of Council who is appointed to this position and, in
the absence of the Mayor, shall exercise all of the powers and responsibilities of the
Mayor as provided for in this By-law or any other by-law or statute.
Electronic Council Communications Information Package (ECCIP) means an
electronic package containing correspondence received by Staff for Council’s
information and consideration.
Electronic Participation means that a Member may participate in the Council or
Committee meeting, remotely by electronic means. The electronic means must enable
the Member to hear and to be heard by the other meeting participants. Acceptable
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formats may include teleconference, videoconference or webinar, or other interactive
communications.
Emergency means any period during which an Emergency has been declared to exist
in all or part of a municipality by the Head of Council or the Province of Ontario under
sections 4 or 7.0.1 of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, as
amended.
Emergency Special Meeting means a meeting called by the Mayor, without advance
notice being given, to consider and deal with urgent and extraordinary matters, including
issues that may urgently affect the health or safety of residents.
GG means the General Government Committee of Council.
Group means more than one person speaking on the same topic registered as a single
delegation.
Holiday means a holiday as defined by the Legislation Act, S.O. 2006, Chapter 21,
Schedule F.
Joint Meeting means a meeting that deals with matters that would normally be dealt
with at a GG meeting or and PD meeting.
Mayor means the Head of Council.
Meeting has the same meaning as Section 238 of the Municipal Act, and means any
regular, special or other meeting of a council, of a local board or of a committee of either
of them, where (a) a quorum of members is present, and (b) members discuss or
otherwise deal with any matter in a way that materially advances the business or
decision-making of the council, local board or committee.
Member means a Member of Council or Committee.
Motion means a proposal moved by a Member and seconded by another Member, for
the consideration of Council or Committee.
Municipal Act, 2001 means the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, as amended or
replaced from time to time.
Municipal Clerk or Clerk means the Clerk of the Municipality of Clarington and
includes the Deputy Clerk and any official of the Municipality appointed by Council to
exercise the power(s) of the Municipal Clerk in the absence of the Municipal Clerk and
Deputy Clerk or their designate.
Municipal Conflict of Interest Act means the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, R.S.O.
1990, c.M.50, as amended or replaced from time to time.
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Municipal Elections Act, 1996 means the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, S.O. 1996,
c.32, as amended or replaced from time to time.
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act means the
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.M.56,
as amended or replaced from time to time.
Municipal Service Board means a board established by Council under section 196 of
the Municipal Act, 2001.
Municipality means the Municipality of Clarington.
PD means the Planning and Development Committee of Council.
Pecuniary Interest has the same meaning as the term has in the Municipal Conflict of
Interest Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.M.50, as amended or replaced from time to time.
Petition means a legibly written / typed document requesting Committee’s / Council’s
consideration of a matter that contains more than ten signatures.
Planning Act means the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13, as amended or replaced
from time to time.
Point of Order means a statement made by a Member during a Meeting drawing to the
attention of the Chair a breach of the Rules of Procedure.
Point of Privilege means the raising of a question that concerns a Member, or all of the
Members, when a Member believes that their rights, immunities or integrity or the rights,
immunities or integrity of Council or Committee as a whole have been challenged. A
breach of privilege is a willful disregard by a Member or any other person of the dignity
and lawful authority of Council.
Political Party means a political party registered with Elections Ontario or Elections
Canada if it succeeds in endorsing one, or more confirmed candidates, in a general
election or a by-election after it has become eligible for registration.
Present means that a Member is in attendance at a meeting either in person or by
electronic participation.
Procedural Motion means any motion concerning the manner or time of consideration
of any matter before the Council as opposed to the substance thereof and includes,
without limitation, the following:
a) To extend the time of the Meeting;
b) To refer;
c) To amend;
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d) To recess;
e) To table indefinitely;
f) To defer;
g) To lift from the table;
h) To adjourn;
i) To divide;
j) To Call the Vote; or
k) To suspend the Rules of Procedure.
Procedural Notice of Motion means a written notice, including the names of the mover
and seconder, advising Council that the motion described therein to amend something
previously adopted by Council, to rescind a previous decision of Council, to lift a matter
from the table, or to reconsider a previous decision of Council, will be brought forward.
Public Meeting means a public meeting in accordance with the Planning Act, R.S.O.
1990 c. P.13 or any other Act, for which notice has been given and during which any
person in attendance shall be provided an opportunity to make representation in respect
of the matter for which the Public Meeting is held.
Reconsideration means a motion that has the effect of allowing a motion to proceed as
though it had never been previously voted on.
Recorded Vote means the written record of the name and vote of every Member
present when the vote is called on any matter or question.
Rescind means a motion that undoes the action taken by the motion, provided it has
not been acted upon.
Rules of Procedure means the rules and requirements of this Procedural By-law.
Special Meeting means a meeting of Council that was not a part of the regular meeting
schedule. A special meeting may be called for Council, GG or PD.
Standing Committee means either the General Government (GG) Committee or the
Planning and Development (PD) Committee of Council.
Simple Majority means 50% + 1 of the Members present and voting:
a) For 7 Members: 4
b) For 6 Members: 4
c) For 5 Members: 3
d) For 4 Members: 3
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Three-Quarters Majority (3/4) of the Members present and voting means:
a) 3/4 of 7 Members: 6
b) 3/4 of 6 Members: 5
c) 3/4 of 5 Members: 4
d) 3/4 of 4 Members: 3
Two-Thirds Majority (2/3) of the Members present and voting means:
a) 2/3 of 7 Members: 5
b) 2/3 of 6 Members: 4
c) 2/3 of 5 Members: 4
d) 2/3 of 4 Members: 3
Website means the Municipality’s website address at www.clarington.net.
Section 2 – General Provisions
2.1 Applicability
2.1.1 Without derogating from the other provisions of this Procedural By-law, the
rules and requirements contained in it shall be observed in all proceedings
of Council or Standing Committees and shall be the rules and requirements
which govern the order of their business, unless specifically overridden by
sections of the Municipal Act (i.e. Strong Mayor powers).
2.1.2 The rules governing the procedures and conduct of Members shall be
observed in Advisory Committee and Local Board meetings with necessary
modifications, except as otherwise provided in the Advisory Committee’s or
Local Board’s Terms of Reference or by-laws.
2.1.3 Nothing in this by-law affects any delegation of authority to staff.
2.2 Suspension of Rules and Policies
2.2.1 Despite Sub-section 2.1.1, the rules and requirements contained in this
Procedural By-law may be suspended by a vote of three-quarters (3/4) of
the Members present and voting, with the exception of any rule which is
required to be followed by law.
2.2.2 Suspension of Council policies or by-laws requires a vote of three-quarters
(3/4) of the Members present and voting, with the exception of any rule
which is required to be followed by law.
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2.3 Issue not Addressed
2.3.1 If an issue is raised that is not expressly addressed in this By-law, the issue
shall be decided by the Chair, subject to an appeal to the Council or
Committee, in session. A vote of the majority of the Members will decide the
matter.
2.4 General Principles
2.4.1 The following general principles shall be observed by all Members
participating in a meeting, and may be used by a meeting Chair for
guidance in determining the appropriate course of action for any matter not
addressed in these proceduresrules of procedure:
a) The majority of Members have the right to decide unless specifically
noted elsewhere in this Procedural By-law, or by Statute. All Members
have the right to be heard;
b) All Members have the right to information to help make decisions;
c) All Members have a right to an efficient meeting;
d) All Members have the right to be treated with respect and courtesy; and
e) All Members have equal rights, privileges, and obligations.
2.5 Electronic Participation
2.5.1 A member of Council, of a local board or of a committee of either of them is
permitted to participate electronically in a meeting and may be counted in
determining whether, or not, a quorum of members is present at any point in
time.
2.5.2 For clarity, a Member of Council, of a local board, or of a committee of either
of them, can participate electronically in a meeting that is closed to the
public.
2.5.3 The protocol for participating electronically shall be set out by the Municipal
Clerk and may be amended from time to time.
2.5.4 The Member shall have the same rights and responsibilities as if they were
in physical attendance, including the right to vote, unless otherwise
prohibited by law or in other subsections of this by-law.
2.5.5 Electronic participation is permitted for all Staff .
2.5.6 Delegates may participate electronically on request if the Clerk is of the
opinion that the delegation can be facilitated electronically. All regular rules
for delegations shall apply to delegates participating electronically.
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2.6 Agenda Restrictions
2.6.1 The Municipal Clerk shall refuse, at the request of a member of the public,
to place on the agenda, and in an ECCIP, unless the CAO determines it is
necessary, an item where the subject matter:
a) Involves current or pending litigation;
b) Involves insurance claims;
c) Involves personnel matters;
d) Involves labour relations;
e) Involves administrative complaints;
f) Is beyond the jurisdiction of Council;
g) Is contrary to the provisions of the Municipal Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act or other relevant
legislation;
h) Involves solicitation of business;
i) Involves candidates, political parties, or nominees for a political
party;
j) Is Ssolely for the purpose of generating publicity for an event;
k) Involves an active by-law investigation or prosecution;
l) Involves other administrative, or operational matters, including but
not limited to contract awards and billing discrepancies/issues; or
m) Is Ootherwise not suitable for discussion.
2.6.2 Delegations and communication items may also be restricted. See the
delegation and communication sections within this Procedural By-law.
Section 3 – Duties of the Mayor and Council
3.1 Duties of the Mayor
3.1.1 It shall be the duty of the Mayor to carry out the responsibilities set forth in
the Municipal Act, 2001, Section 225.
3.1.2 To authenticate, by signature, all by-laws.
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3.1.3 The Mayor shall, by virtue of their office, be a member of all Committees
with the same rights and privileges as all other members, including the right
to vote and participate in debate, but shall not be eligible to be the Chair or
Vice-Chair. The Mayor’s absence from the meeting shall not be counted
when determining quorum but the Mayor’s presence at a meeting shall be
counted towards quorum.
3.2 Duties of the Chair
a) To open the Meeting of Council or Committee by taking the Chair
and calling the Members to order;
b) To announce the business before Council in the order in which it is
to be acted upon;
c) To receive and submit, in the manner prescribed by this Procedural
By-law, all motions presented by the Members of Council;
d) To recognize any Member who wishes to speak and to determine
the order of the speakers;
e) To put to a vote all questions, which are regularly moved and
seconded, or necessarily arise during the proceedings and to
announce the results;
f) To vote on all motions, which are moved and seconded, or
necessarily arise during the proceedings;
g) To decline to put to vote, motions which contravene the provisions
of this Procedural By-law;
h) To enforce the provisions of this Procedural By-law;
i) To enforce on all occasions, the observance of order and decorum
among the Members;
j) To call by name, any Member refusing to comply with this
Procedural By-law and to order the Member to vacate the meeting
room or electronic meetingCouncil Chamber, or the place of
Meeting, as the case may be. In the event that the Member does
not vacate:
• If the Member is present in person, the Chair may:
stop recognizing them to speak,
turn off their microphone,
ask for a recess,
call Security to remove the Member; or
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direct the Municipal Clerk to seek the appropriate
assistance from the Durham Regional Police;
• If the Member is present electronically, the Chair may
stop recognizing them to speak,
turn off their microphone,
ask for a recess, or
cause them to be removed from the electronic
meeting.
k) To cause to be expelled and excluded any member of the public
who creates any disturbance or acts improperly during a Meeting
and, if necessary, to direct the Municipal Clerk to seek the
appropriate assistance from the Durham Regional Police;
l) To rule on any Points of Order and Points of Privilege raised by
Members of Council;
m) To recess the Meeting, without a motion, for a specified time if
there is a threat or imminent threat to the health or safety of any
person, or if there is a possibility of public disorder;
n) To adjourn the Meeting when the business is concluded, or if
considered necessary because of grave disorder, to adjourn the
sitting without putting to the vote any question or suspend the
sitting for a time to be named; and
on) Where the agenda includes a public meeting, tThe Chair shall
preside in person, unless the meeting is fully virtual. If the Member
is not in person, another Member who is in person shall Chair that
meeting.
3.3 Appointment of Deputy Mayor
3.3.1 Council shall appoint a Member to act as a Deputy Mayor in the absence of
the Mayor. During any such absence of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor shall
exercise all of the powers and responsibilities of the Mayor under this By-
law or any other by-law or statute, except the Strong Mayors powers as
defined in Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act.
3.4 Participation of Chair in Debate
3.4.1 The Chair may state relevant facts and the Chair’s position on any matter
before the Council, or a Committee without leaving the chair, which may
take place immediately prior to the vote, but it shall not be permissible for
the Chair to move a motion or debate a question without first leaving the
chair.
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3.4.2 If the Chair desires to leave the chair, to leave the meeting, to move a
motion, or to take part in the debate, the Mayor shall preside until the Chair
resumes the chair. If the Mayor is chairing the Committee meeting, the
Deputy Mayor shall preside until the Mayor resumes the Chair. If the
designated person is not present, the Chair may call upon any other
Member to chair the meeting.
3.4.3 Notwithstanding any requirement for the Mayor to leave the Chair to
introduce a motion, this does not apply when the Mayor is introducing a
motion under theexercising any Strong Mayor powers within Part VI.1 of the
Municipal Act.
3.5 Duties of a Member of Council
3.5.1 A Member of Council shall have the following duties:
a) to deliberate on the business submitted to Council or Committees
of Council, as the case may be;
b) to vote when a motion is put to a vote;
c) to Chair the GG Committee or PD Committee Meeting in
accordance with this Procedural By-law; and
d) to apply and respect the Rules of Procedure.
Section 4 – Meetings
4.1 Place of Regular Meetings
4.1.1 Unless otherwise directed by Council, the regular Meetings of Council, GG
Committee and PD Committee shall be held in the Council Chambers,
Municipal Administrative Centre, 40 Temperance Street, Bowmanville, ON
or electronically, as determined by the Municipal Clerk, and at the dates and
times determined by Council resolution.
4.2 Regular Meetings Schedule
4.2.1 The meeting schedule shall generally be based on a three-week rotation per
month, beginning in September 2023, as determined by the Municipal Clerk.
4.2.2 Regular meetings shall not be scheduled during the week that the Monday
is a public holiday. No regular meetings shall be held during the month of
July, the month of August, or during any Spring Break scheduled for the
public elementary and secondary schools in Clarington, or during the annual
Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO)
conference or between Christmas and New Year’s.
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4.2.3 Council meetings shall be held at 6:30 p.m., PD Committee meetings shall
be held at 5 p.m. and GG Committee meetings shall be held at 9:30 a.m.
4.2.4 No regular meetings of Council or Standing Committees shall be scheduled
in the months of September, October, or November of the year of a regular
municipal election.
4.3 Notice of Regular Meetings
4.3.1 Pursuant to Section 238 of the Municipal Act, 2001 public notice of each
regularly scheduled Meeting shall be deemed to be given by making the
agenda available in the Municipal Clerk’s Office and on the Clarington
website by end of the business day of the Friday preceding the regularly
scheduled Meeting and on the Clarington website.
4.3.2 Notice of amendment to the Schedule of regular Meetings shall be posted
on the website at least one week prior to the amended Meeting date where
practical to do so.
4.3.3 Notice which is substantively given but is irregular or not otherwise in strict
compliance with these procedures shall not invalidate the holding of a
meeting or any of the proceedings at a meeting.
4.4 Special Meetings
4.4.1 The Mayor may, at any time, call a special Meeting of Council, GG
Committee or PD Committee or Joint Meeting, by writing to the Municipal
Clerk stating the date, time, location, and purpose of the special meeting .
4.4.2 The Municipal Clerk shall call a special Meeting of Council, GG Committee
or PD Committee or Joint Meeting when requested to do so in writing by a
majority of the Members, at the date, time, location, and purpose mentioned
in the request.
4.4.3 No business other than that indicated in the written notice shall be
considered at the special meeting except with the unanimous consent of all
Members present and voting at such meeting.
4.5 Notice of Special Meetings
4.5.1 Notice of special Meetings shall be posted on the website not less than 24
hours before the time appointed for the special Meeting.
4.5.2 The written notice referred to in this Procedural By-law shall indicate the
nature of the business to be considered at the special Meeting of Council or
Committee, whether delegations will be heard, and the date, time, and place
of the Meeting.
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4.6 Joint Meeting
4.6.1 Joint Meetings may be called at the dates and times determined by Council
resolution.
4.7 Emergency Special Meeting
4.7.1 Notwithstanding Sub-section 4.2.1, on urgent and extraordinary occasions,
an emergency special Meeting of the Council may be called by the Mayor,
without advance notice being given by the Municipal Clerk pursuant to this
by-law, to consider and deal with such urgent and extraordinary matters,
including issues that may urgently affect the health or safety of residents.
4.7.2 In the case of an emergency, Council may hold meetings at any convenient
location within or outside the municipality, as determined by the Clerk in
consultation with the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer.
4.7.3 No business other than the business dealing directly or indirectly with the
emergency shall be transacted at the meeting.
Notice of Emergency Special Meetings
4.7.4 Where an Emergency special Meeting of Council is held in accordance with
this Procedural By-law, notice of the Emergency special Meeting shall be
posted on the website as soon as practical following the Emergency special
Meeting and shall, subject to this Procedural By-law, indicate the nature of
the business considered at the Emergency special Meeting.
4.8 First/Inaugural Meeting of Council
4.8.1 The first Meeting of Council shall be held within 31 days of taking office,
pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, at the time and location
determined by the Clerk and Mayor.
4.9 Seating in Council Chambers
4.9.1 Seating at the Council table shall be in alphabetical order of the Members’
surname, beginning in the most north/east position and proceeding
clockwise.
4.9.2 Only Members of Council and the Municipal Staff shall be permitted to enter
the Council floor during the sitting of Council or Committee without the
permission of the Mayor or Committee Chair.
4.9.3 No person, other than a Member of Council or the Municipal Staff, shall,
before or during a Meeting, place on the desks of Members or otherwise
distribute any material whatsoever unless such person is so acting with the
approval of the Mayor or Committee Chair.
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4.9.4 Members of Council leaving their places prior to the adjournment shall
endeavour to do so in a manner so as not to disrupt the proceedings of
Council or Committee.
4.10 Quorum
4.10.1 A quorum of Council or Committee shall be four (4) Members, except as
otherwise stated. A concurring vote of a majority of Members present and
voting is necessary to carry a resolution.
4.10.2 If a quorum is not present within thirty (30) minutes after the time appointed
for a Meeting, the Municipal Clerk, shall record the names of the Members
present and the Meeting shall stand adjourned until the date of the next
regular Meeting or other Meeting called in accordance with this Procedural
By-law.
4.10.3 If during a meeting, a quorum is lost, the Chair shall declare that the
meeting shall stand recessed temporarily or be adjourned until the date of
the next regular meeting or other meeting called in accordance with the
provisions of this Procedural By-law. Any unfinished business will be placed
on the agenda of the next regular meeting or other meeting called for that
purpose.
4.11 Meetings Open to the Public
4.11.1 Subject to Sub-section 4.912, Meetings shall be open to the public and no
person shall be excluded, except for improper conduct or required by
statute.
4.12 Closed Meetings
4.12.1 Notwithstanding the previous section regarding “Meetings Open to the
Public”, Council or Committee may, by resolution, close a Meeting or part of
a Meeting to members of the public if the subject matter deals with any of
the matters in Sub-section 239 (2) or 239 (3) of the Municipal Act, 2001.
4.12.2 Council or Committee may hold a Meeting closed to the public where the
Meeting is held for the purpose of educating or training the Members and at
the Meeting no Member discusses or otherwise deals with any matter in a
way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the
Council or Committee.
4.12.3 A motion to close a Meeting or part of a Meeting to the public shall state:
a) the fact of the holding of the closed Meeting; and
b) the general nature of the matter to be considered at the closed
Meeting.
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4.12.4 Where a Meeting, or part of a Meeting, is closed to the public, Council or
Committee shall:
a) retire to the Council Ante Room or other such room as deemed appropriate
by Council or Committeeremain in the same room as Open Session and
only those persons specifically invited to attend the closed Meeting shall be
permitted to attend; or
b) request those persons not specifically invited to the closed Meeting to
vacate the Council Chambers, or such room in which the Meeting is being
heldroom or leave the electronic meeting, as the case may be; or
c) only permit access to the meeting room or electronic meeting to those
persons specifically invited to attend the closed Meeting. All other persons
will be required to vacate the meeting.
4.12.5 A Meeting shall not be closed to the public during a vote except where the
meeting is a closed Meeting permitted or required by statute, and where the
vote is for a procedural matter or for giving directions or instructions to
officers, employees or agents of the Municipality or persons retained under
contract with the Municipality.
4.12.6 Notwithstanding Sub-section 4.12.5, the vote on a resolution approving a
contract for the acquisition or disposal of land, including the sale of road
allowances, shall be conducted in open session.
4.12.7 At the conclusion of a closed meeting, a motion to rise from the closed
meeting and proceed into an open meeting shall be adopted.
4.13 Length of Meetings and Scheduled Break
4.13.1 Meetings scheduled to commence at or before 9:30 a.m., and which are in
session at 4:31 p.m., will be adjourned unless the rules are suspended to
continue the meeting.
4.13.2 Meetings which are scheduled to commence at or after 5:00 p.m., and
which are in session at 10:31 p.m., will be adjourned unless the rules are
suspended to continue the meeting.
4.13.3 Where a meeting is scheduled to commence at or before 9:30 a.m., there
shall be a scheduled 1-hour break at 12:00 noon unless otherwise
determined by a vote of 2/3 of the Members present.
4.13.4 If a meeting is adjourned in accordance with section 4.13.1 or 4.13.2, prior
to all agenda items being considered, all remaining items, except procedural
items, shall be placed on the next regular committee meeting that the item
would otherwise have been added to.
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4.14 Portable Electronic Devices
4.14.1 The use of portable electronic devices by Members of Council and
Committee during Council and Committee meetings shall be permitted
provided the Member is not using the portable electronic device to phone;
email, or text each other or members of the public while the meeting is in
session.
4.14.2 Despite Subsection 4.14.1, the use of any portable electronic device may be
prohibited by the Chair, if, in the Chair’s opinion, the device is interfering
with any video or audio broadcast of the meeting or is otherwise causing a
disturbance.
4.14.3 The use of portable electronic devices may be used as an interface to
participate electronically in the meeting.
4.15 Video Recording of Council and Committee Meetings
4.15.1 Meetings may be audio or video recorded, broadcast and / or livestreamed
publicly by the municipality, except for Closed Meetings.
4.15.2 Meeting attendees may record all, or portions of, open meetings, provided
that doing so is not disruptive to the meeting or other attendees.
4.16 Cancellation or Changes to Meetings
4.16.1 A meeting may be cancelled or the date, time, or location changed by the
Clerk in any of the following circumstances:
a) If the Clerk determines in advance that quorum will not be
achieved;
b) if the meeting is cancelled bBy Council or Committee resolution;
c) Where the meeting is not required as determined by the Clerk, in
consultation with the Mayor and CAO, dDue to a lack of forecasted
agenda items, in consultation with the Mayor and CAO; or
d) iIn the event of exceptional circumstances, including inclement
weather, at the discretion of the Chair or Clerk.
4.16.2 The Clerk shall ensure that notice of the cancellation or change is provided
to all Members of Council as soon as possible after the cancellation or
change.
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Section 5 – Committees
5.1 General
5.1.1 There shall be two Standing Committees of Council, namely the General
Government (GG) Committee of Council and the Planning and
Development (PD) Committee of Council, which shall be organized as
follows:
a) GG and PD Committees shall be comprised of all Members of
Council.
b) Unless the Strong Mayors Powers are invoked where the Mayor
may appoint the Chair and Vice-Chair of Committees wholly
consisting of Members of Council, each Member shall Chair the GG
Committee meetings in accordance with the following schedule:
Ward 1 Councillor – January and February
Ward 2 Councillor – March and April
Ward 3 Councillor – May and June
Ward 4 Councillor – September and October
Regional Councillor (who is not appointed as the Chair of the
PD Committee meetings) – November and December
c) A Regional Councillor shall be appointed to Chair the PD
Committee meetings by Council.
d) In the absence of the Chair or during July and August, the Mayor
shall Chair the meeting, and in the absence of the Mayor the
Deputy Mayor.
e) Joint meetings shall be chaired by the Mayor unless:
unavailable, in which case, the Deputy Mayor shall chair; or
the Mayor has designated another Member of Council.
5.2 Exceptions
5.2.1 Notwithstanding the Committee mandate outlined in this Procedural By-law,
Council may consider any matter without referring it to GG Committee or PD
Committee and may withdraw a matter from the GG Committee or the PD
Committee at any time.
5.2.2 Notwithstanding the mandates of the Standing Committees, the Municipal
Clerk may place a matter on either Standing Committee, where it is deemed
more appropriate by the CAO.
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5.3 GG Committee Mandate
5.3.1 The GG Committee shall make recommendations to Council on all matters
not mandated by the PD Committee, including, without limitation, levels of
service and operational policy and budgetary matters.
5.4 GG Committee Reporting to Council
5.4.1 The GG Committee shall forward recommendations to Council via the
committees minutes, for consideration at Council.
5.5 PD Committee Mandate
5.5.1 The PD Committee shall be mandated with holding public meetings, and
any other planning and development matter or matter deemed to require
public consultation and such other matters as may be referred to the PD
Committee by Council.
5.6 PD Committee Reporting to Council
5.6.1 The PD Committee shall forward recommendations to Council via the
committee minutes, for consideration at Council.
Section 6 – Agendas and Minutes
6.1 General
6.1.1 When preparing an Agenda, the Clerk may exclude any headings that have
no items after the Agenda Update Deadline.
6.1.2 The Municipal Clerk may schedule an item for a specified time during the
meeting. When exercising this option, the Municipal Clerk shall include the
scheduled time on the meeting Agenda.
6.1.3 Where the Municipal Clerk, has scheduled an item for a specified time,
when that specified time arrives during the meeting, the Council/Committee
shall set aside the matter currently before it, to allow the item to be heard as
scheduled. The scheduled item becomes the next order of business.
6.1.4 The Agenda shall be provided to each Member by noon on the day following
the Agenda Deadline.
6.1.5 The Agenda items shall be considered in the order they appears on the
agenda unless otherwise decided by a majority vote of the Members
present and voting.
6.1.6 Notwithstanding sub-sections 6.2.1, 6.3.1, and 6.4.1, the Municipal Clerk
may group items regarding the same matter together on the agenda, in the
order that the Municipal Clerk deems appropriate.
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6.2 Council Agenda
6.21.1 The Municipal Clerk shall cause to be prepared an agenda under the
following headings for the use of the Members at the regular Meetings of
Council:
Call to Order
Land Acknowledgement Statement
Moment of Reflection
Land Acknowledgement Statement
Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest
Announcements
Presentations / Delegations
Consent Agenda
Council and Standing Committee Minutes
Advisory Committee and Local Board Minutes
Communications
Staff Reports and Staff Memos
By-laws
Items for Separate Discussion
Business Arising from Procedural Notice of Motion (to be included
on agenda only if there is business to be considered under this
Section)
Unfinished Business
Confidential Items
Confirming By-law
Adjournment
6.1.2 The agenda shall be provided to each member no later than end of day on
the Thursday preceding the commencement of the regular Council Meeting
in question.
6.1.3 The business of Council shall be considered in the order as it appears on
the agenda, unless otherwise decided by a majority vote of the Members
present and voting.
6.1.4 Notwithstanding sub-section 6.1.1, the Municipal Clerk may group items
regarding the same matter together on the agenda, in the order that the
Municipal Clerk deems appropriate.
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6.32 General Government Committee Agenda
6.32.1 The Municipal Clerk shall cause to be prepared an agenda under the
following headings for the use of the Members at the regular meetings of
the GG Committee:
Call to Order
Land Acknowledgement Statement
Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest
Announcements
Presentations / Delegations
Consent Agenda
Communications
Staff Reports and Staff Memos
Items for Separate Discussion
Unfinished Business
New Business
Confidential Items
Adjournment
6.2.2 The Municipal Clerk shall ensure that the GG Committee agenda is
provided to each member no later than the end of day Thursday preceding
the commencement of the regular GG Committee Meeting.
6.2.3 The business of GG Committee shall be considered in the order as it
appears on the agenda for its Meeting, unless otherwise decided by a
majority vote of the Members present and voting.
6.2.4 Notwithstanding Sub-section 6.2.1, the Municipal Clerk may group items
regarding the same matter together on the agenda, in the order that the
Municipal Clerk deems appropriate.
6.43 Planning and Development Committee
6.43.1 The Municipal Clerk shall cause to be prepared an agenda under the
following headings for the use of the Members at the regular meetings of
PD Committee:
Call to Order
Land Acknowledgement Statement
Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest
Announcements
Presentations / Delegations
Consent Agenda
Communications
Staff Reports and Staff Memos
Unfinished Business
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New Business
Public Meetings (6:30 p.m.)
Confidential Items
Adjournment
6.3.2 The Municipal Clerk shall ensure that the PD Committee agenda is provided
to each member no later than the end of day Thursday preceding the
commencement of the regular PD Committee Meeting.
6.3.3 The business of PD Committee shall be considered in the order as it
appears on the agenda for its Meeting, unless otherwise decided by a
majority vote of the Members present and voting.
6.3.4 Notwithstanding sub-section 6.3.1, the Municipal Clerk may group items
regarding the same matter together on the agenda, in the order that the
Municipal Clerk deems appropriate.
6.54 Special Meeting Agendas
6.54.1 The Municipal Clerk shall cause to be prepared a printed agenda under the
following headings for the use of the Members at Special Meetings:
Call to Order
Land Acknowledgement Statement
Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest
Matters of Business
Adjournment
6.54.2 When preparing an agenda for a special meeting, the Clerk may include or
exclude any headings appropriate for the special meeting.
6.54.3 The business of Special Meetings shall be considered in the order as it
appears on the agenda for its Meeting, unless otherwise decided by a
majority vote of the Members present and voting.
6.65 Addendum
6.65.1 The Clerk may amend the agenda for a scheduled Council or Standing
Committee meeting by way of an addendum.
6.65.2 The addendum shall only include additional items related to matters already
on the agenda, or new items that in the opinion of the Clerk, in consultation
with the Chief Administrative Officer, are time- sensitive in nature.
6.65.3 Items to be included on the Addendum shall be received by the Agenda
Update Deadline and will be published after that deadline.
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6.65.4 Notice shall be deemed to have been given for all matters added to an
agenda via an addendum.
6.76 Meeting Minutes
6.76.1 The Municipal Clerk, shall cause minutes to be taken of each Meeting of
Council or Committee, whether it is closed to the public or not. These
minutes shall include:
a) the place, date and time of Meeting;
b) the names of the Chair or Chairs and a record of the attendance of
the Members; should a Member enter after the commencement of
a Meeting or leave prior to adjournment, the time shall be noted;
c) if requested, correction of the minutes of prior Meetings;
d) declarations of pecuniary interest; and
e) all resolutions, decisions and all other proceedings of Council or
Committee, without note or comment.
Section 7 – Agenda Item Description
7.1 Call to Order
7.1.1 As soon as a quorum is present after the hour set for the Meeting, the Chair
shall call the Members present to order.
7.1.2 If the Chair does not attend within fifteen minutes after the time set for the
Meeting and a quorum is present, the Mayor shall preside over the Meeting
until the Chair is present at the Meeting and is able to perform the
responsibilities of the chair.
7.1.3 If the Mayor is also not present within fifteen minutes after the time set for
the Meeting and a quorum is present, the Deputy Mayor shall preside over
the Meeting until the Chair or Mayor is present at the Meeting and is able to
perform the responsibilities of the chair.
7.1.4 If the Deputy Mayor is also not present within fifteen minutes after the time
set for the Meeting and a quorum is present, the Municipal Clerk , shall call
the meeting to order, and the Members present shall appoint a Member who
shall act as Chair of the Meeting until the arrival of the Mayor or Deputy
Mayor, whoever is the first to arrive and is able to assume the chair.
7.1.5 A moment of reflection is called at the beginning of a Council meeting to
allow Members to consider past and future actions that may be taken.
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7.1.6 In recognition of a necessary first step towards honouring the original
occupants of a place, and as a way to recognize the traditional First
Nations, Metis and / or Inuit territories of a place, and to commemorate
Indigenous peoples' principal kinship to the land, a Land Acknowledgement
Statement shall be read in accordance with the Land Acknowledgement
Guidelines.
7.2 Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest
7.2.1 All Members shall govern themselves at any Meeting in accordance with the
current legislation respecting any disclosure of pecuniary interest and
participation in the Meeting.
7.2.2 Where the meeting is not open to the public, in addition to declaring the
conflict, the Member shall leave the meeting, or the part of the meeting,
during which the matter is under consideration.
7.2.3 Where a Member is absent from a meeting which includes a matter on
which they have a pecuniary interest, the Member shall disclose the interest
at the next meeting attended by the Member.
7.2.4 The Clerk shall record any declarations of interest made by a Member in the
meeting minutes, noting the matter and the general nature of the
declaration.
7.2.5 Notwithstanding Sub-section 7.2.1, if the matter under consideration at a
meeting, or a part of a meeting, is to consider whether to suspend the
remuneration paid to the member under subsection 223.4 (5) or (6) of the
Municipal Act, 2001, the member may take part in the discussion of the
matter, including making submissions to council or the local board, as the
case may be, and may attempt to influence the voting on any question in
respect of the matter, whether before, during or after the meeting.
However, the member is not permitted to move, second, or vote on any
motion in respect of the matter. Additionally, in the case of a meeting that is
not open to the public, the member may attend the meeting, or part of the
meeting, during which the matter is under consideration.
7.2.6 Notwithstanding Sub-section 7.2.1, when a Member declares on a matter(s)
at a Council meeting, later in the meeting when the confirming by-law is on
the floor, the Member’s declaration is understood, and the Member may
remain in the room in which the meeting is taking place and participate in
the vote on the confirming by-law. Further, if the Member declares on a
matter at a meeting and at a subsequent meeting the minutes of the entire
meeting are on the floor for adoption, the Member’s declaration is
understood and the Member may participate in the vote on adopting the
minutes and is not required to submit another declaration of interest form,
provided that the matter the Member declared on is not further discussed or
amended in any way.
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7.2.7 At a meeting at which a member declares an interest, or as soon as
possible afterwards, the member shall file a written statement of the interest
and its general nature with the Municipal Clerk, in the form determined by
the Municipal Clerk.
7.2.8 The Municipal Clerk shall establish and maintain a Registry of Declarations
of Interest containing,
a) A copy of each statement filed under section 7.2.4; and
b) A copy of each declaration recorded in the minutes.
7.2.9 The Municipal Clerk shall provide access to the Registry of Declarations of
Interest through the Municipal website or through an alternative means, as
requested from time to time.
7.3 Announcements
7.3.1 During this portion of the Meeting, when recognized by the Chair, Members
shall be afforded a maximum of five minutes during which time they may
announce or comment on community events and activities.
7.4 Presentations
7.4.1 At the request of a Member of Council or the Municipality’s Staff, any
person(s), organization(s), corporations(s), or appointed official(s) may be
permitted to address the Members to inform them of matters of significance
to the Municipality provided that the request has been submitted to the
Municipal Clerk by the Agenda Deadline.
Presentations shall include only the following:
Presentations requested by Council; or
Civic recognition / awards; or
Presentations by Municipal Staff or consultants retained by the
Municipality; or
Presentations from senior levels of government; or
Presentations deemed necessary by the Municipal Clerk, or as
required by law.
7.4.1 Provided that the request has been submitted to the Municipal Clerk prior to
the Agenda Deadline, in the form determined by the Municipal Clerk, a
person, organization, corporation, or appointed officer may be permitted to
be listed under the “Presentation Section”:
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7.4.2 Presentations shall include only the following:
a) Awards or recognitions;
b) Presentations from senior levels of government;
c) Presentations from a member of Staff, in their professional
capacity;
d) Presentations requested by a Member of Council, or Staff; and
e) Presentations as required by legislation.
7.4.32 Municipal audio-visual equipment may be used to assist in presentations,
provided that permission has been obtained for use of such equipment from
the Municipal Clerk, at the time the presenter(s) contact the Municipal
Clerk’s Division to register for the Meeting. Presentations must be provided
to the Municipal Clerk’s Division no later than 2:00 p.m. on the business day
preceding the commencement of the Meeting. Presentations will not be
installed once the meeting has begun.
Presentations to Committee
7.4.34 Presentations scheduled to be made to Committee will be assigned to t he
appropriate Committee based on the presentation topic and the Committee
mandate.
7.4.4 Upon receipt of the request for a presentation as detailed in Sub-section
7.4.1, the Municipal Clerk, may schedule the presentation for a specified
time during the Committee meeting. When exercising this option, the
Municipal Clerk, shall include the scheduled presentation time on the
meeting Agenda and shall notify the presenter of the scheduled
presentation time.
7.4.5 Where the Municipal Clerk, has scheduled a presentation for a specified
time, as per Sub-section 7.4.4, when that specified time arrives during the
Committee meeting, the Committee shall set aside the matter currently
before it, to allow the presentation to be heard as scheduled. Should there
be a motion on the floor at the scheduled presentation time, that motion
shall be considered immediately after the Presentation has concluded.
7.4.56 The time limit for Staff and Consultant presentations at Public Meetings
shall be 20 minutes.
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7.5 Delegations
7.5.1 All requests for delegations shall be accompanied by a written summary, to
be included in the Agenda, outlining their subject, their name and address,
their reason for delegating, their desired action requested of Council, and
any supporting documentation. Delegations will not be allowed if the
Municipal Clerk, in consultation with the CAO, deems that the written
summary is not sufficient to convey the topic and position of the delegation.
7.5.2 All Delegations shall be directed to, and heard by, the Committee except as
otherwise provided for in this Procedural By-law.
7.5.3 Notwithstanding Sub-section 7.5.2, unless otherwise determined by the
Municipal Clerk, Delegations shall not be added to the agenda or permitted
to:
a) Speak to PD Committee regarding a matter that is the subject of a Public
Meeting which is included on the PD Committee agenda.
b) Speak to PD Committee regarding a matter which is within the mandate
of the GG Committee meeting.
c) Speak to GG Committee regarding a matter which is within the mandate
of the PD Committee meeting.
d) Speak to a previous decision of Council, that is within the same term of
Council that the decision was made, unless a motion to reconsider or re-
introduce the matter is presented to Council by a Member, or a report on
the matter is included on the agenda.
e) Speak to an Integrity Commissioner’s report regarding a Member of
Council.
f) Speak to matters which have been referred to Staff for a report which is
not yet on a published agenda or matters which are within the
responsibility of Staff. For these inquiries, the Clerk shall notify the
proposed delegate that the delegation shall not be listed on the agenda
and shall direct the proposed delegate to the appropriate Department.
The delegation shall not be listed on an agenda until Staff has had the
opportunity to address the matter.
7.5.4 Delegations shall be limited to a maximum of 15 per meeting.
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7.5.5 Without leave of Council, members shall have one opportunity to ask
questions of Delegations for the purpose of seeking clarification or
additional information, and not to expand the scope of the delegation’s
remarks or for adding the Member’s own statement through the delegation.
Questions such as “are you aware” and “did you know” will be considered
out of order, subject to the discretion of the Chair.
7.5.6 Members shall not enter into debate with the delegate.
7.5.7 Where a Delegation wishes to provide Members with written communication
supporting the Delegation’s comments, the communication shall be
provided to the Municipal Clerk prior to the meeting. The writt en
communication may be distributed to the Members at the discretion of the
Municipal Clerk or designate.
7.5.8 Municipal audio-visual equipment may be used to assist in delegations, if
permission has been obtained for use of such equipment from the Municipal
Clerk, at the time the delegates(s) contacted the Municipal Clerk’s Division
to register for the Meeting. The delegate’s electronic presentation must be
provided to the Municipal Clerk’s Division no later than 2:00 p.m. the
business day preceding the commencement of the Meeting. Electronic
presentations will not be installed once the meeting has begun.
7.5.9 No further delegations may be made in respect of a delegation placed on an
agenda in accordance with this Sub-section. For clarity, a delegation cannot
be a delegation to another delegation as a way of circumventing other rules
outlined in this by-law but may speak to attachments and links associated
with other delegations, as long as it is in accordance with other delegation
rules.
7.5.9 No delegation may speak to matters described in section 2.6. The
delegation request will not be added, or noted, in the Agenda.
7.5.110 No delegation may speak to the same matter twice within the same
meeting.
7.5.112 Where a delegation request is received after the Agenda Deadline and the
matter is included on an agenda for a meeting, the request will be added to
the addendum for the applicable meeting if written notice to the Clerk is
received, by the Agenda Update Deadline.
7.5.123 A delegation, not listed on the agenda, shall not be heard without the
consent of at least 2/3 majority of the Members present and shall be
pertaining to an item listed on the Agenda. If the delegation is not pertaining
to an item listed on the Agenda a suspension of the rules (3/4 vote) is
required for the delegation to be heard. The delegation request will not be
added, or noted, in the Agenda.
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7.5.134 Each Delegation in respect of a particular matter shall be limited to seven
minutes in addition to the time taken by Council to ask questions of the
delegate and to receive answers to such questions.
7.5.145 Should there be more than one individual who registers to speak as a group
on the same matter, the group shall be allotted up to ten minutes to
delegate.
7.5.156 A single extension, of up to three minutes, may be provided to a delegation
by passing a motion with a simple majority vote. All other extensions require
the suspension of the rules of procedure.
7.6 Delegations - To Council
7.6.1 Delegations shall be restricted to speaking to matters included on the
Council agenda for the Meeting in question.
7.6.2 Notwithstanding Sub-section 7.6.1, Delegations shall not be permitted to
speak to a matter that was considered at a Standing Committee, or is the
subject of a Staff report or matter included under Unfinished Business
included on the Council agenda, where the Delegation spoke to the item at
a Standing Committee or Council meeting, including a Public Meeting,
which is being reported to Council.
7.6.3 Notwithstanding Sub-section 7.6.1, where the Municipal Clerk determines
that the matter is of an urgent nature and there is insufficient time for a
Delegation to be heard by a Standing Committee, subject to this Procedural
By-law, the Delegation may be permitted to speak to Council on the matter.
7.7 Disposition of Items
7.7.1 When a delegate is addressing a matter that is not otherwise included on
the agenda, a motion to deal with the delegation shall be in order
immediately following the conclusion of the delegation.
7.7.2 When considering the disposition of items related to:
a) Provincial legislation, Council’s position shall be forwarded to the
Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) for review and
consideration.
b) Federal legislation, Council’s position shall be forwarded to the
Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) for review and
consideration.
c) Forwarding Council’s decision to all Ontario Municipalities, Staff shall
forward to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) for review
and consideration and not to all municipalities.
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7.7.3 When Council only receives a correspondence item for information, no
correspondence shall be sent to the submitter.
7.7.4 A person wishing to make representation at a Planning Public Meeting, is
not required to give written notice, unless it is required as part of electronic
meeting participation procedures as set out by the Municipal Clerk and is
not required to be listed on the PD Committee agenda for the Meeting in
question.
7.8 Special Meetings
7.8.1 No Delegation will be heard at a Special Meeting of Council or Committee
meeting unless otherwise directed in the call of the special meeting.
7.9 Conduct of Delegations and Presenters
7.9.1 Delegations and presenters shall not:
a) speak disrespectfully of any person, or make detrimental
comments, or speak ill of, or malign the integrity of staff, the public
or Council and Committee;
b) use offensive words;
c) speak on any subject other than the subject for which they have
given notice to address Council/Committee;
d) disobey the decision of the Chair;
e) enter into debate with Members;
f) appropriate any unused time allocated to another Delegation or
Presenter;
g) deviate from answering directly when answering a question; or
h) display placards or props.
i) use a meeting as a forum to speak on, or address, any matter
relating to a campaign.
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7.10 Public Meetings
7.10.1 Shall follow the format developed by the Municipal Clerk and Deputy
CAO,/Director of Planning and Infrastructure. Services.
7.10.2 Public meetings, under the Planning Act, shall be limited to two three per
Planning and Development Committee meeting, unless otherwise agreed
between the Municipal Clerk anddetermined by the Deputy CAO,/Director of
Planning and Infrastructure Services.
7.10.3 Members of the Public speaking at a Public Meeting shall be limited to five
minutes, in addition to the time taken by Council to ask questions of the
person and to receive answers to such questions.
7.11 Consent Agenda
7.11.1 Items that do not require discussion, which may include minutes,
communications, Staff Reports/Memos, and by-laws, may be added under
this section, however, any single Member may, at the beginning of this
section, request that an item be removed from the consent agenda to
change the recommended motion and to vote on separately.
7.11.2 Should a Member have a pecuniary interest in an item on a consent
resolution, the item shall be removed from the consent resolution and voted
on separately.
7.11.3 Should a Member wish to simply discuss an item on a consent
resolutionagenda, but not change the recommended motion, the Member
may do so without “removing” the item from the consent resolution.
7.12 Items for Separate Discussion
7.12.1 Items that require, or may need, discussion, may be listed here and not
within the consent agenda. This may include items pulled from the ECCIP.
7.13 Consideration of Minutes
7.13.1 Minutes of Standing Committees, Advisory Committees, Boards, and
municipal service boards shall be listed under this Section of the Council
agenda and may be disposed of through a single resolution.
7.13.2 Minutes from previous Standing Committees and Council meeting(s) shall
be adopted and all other minutes shall be received for information.
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7.13.3 Any Member may request that one, or more, recommendations contained in
the Standing Committees minutes be extracted and voted on separately
only for the purposes of changing the motion or holding a recorded vote. If
the motion was lost at Standing Committee, a motion to consider the lost
motion shall require a 2/3 majority vote, before discussion on the lost motion
begins.
7.13.4 To approve a recommendation from a board or advisory committee, a
Member of Council shall remove it from the consent agenda and put forward
a motion to approve the recommendation within the minutes of the board or
advisory committee.
7.13.5 Minutes of previous meetings may be adopted without having been read at
the meeting at which their adoption is considered.
7.13.6 Minutes of Standing Committees approved at Council are not required to be
added to the agenda or approved by a future Standing Committee meeting.
7.14 Communications
7.14.1 Where an item of correspondence is received and the subject matter
pertains to an item on an agenda for a Council or Committee meeting, the
correspondence shall be added to the agenda if received by the Clerk by
the Agenda Update Deadline.
7.14.2 Communications which relate to a matter which has been referred to Staff
for a report which is not yet on a published agenda or matters which are
within the responsibility of Staff, shall not be placed on an agenda or the
ECCIP and will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member for response
to the author.
7.14.3 Where the Clerk received multiple copies of correspondence containing the
same or similar information (such as a form letter), and the matter is on the
agenda the Clerk may include one copy of the correspondence in the
agenda and provide a summary of the remainder received.
7.14.4 The Municipal Clerk shall prepare an Electronic Council Communication
Information Package (ECCIP) containing correspondence received by Staff
for Council’s information. This includes minutes of the Business
Improvement Areas (BIAs).
7.14.5 The deadline for information to be included in the ECCIP is end of day
Thursday, unless Friday is a holiday, then this deadline will move back a
day.
7.14.6 The ECCIP shall be delivered electronically every Friday, unless Friday is a
holiday, then this deadline will move back a day.
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7.14.7 A Member of Council may request, in writing to the Clerk, including the
Member’s motion for the disposition of the item, that an item from the
ECCIP be included on the next agenda of the appropriate Standing
Committee, as determined by the Clerk. A seconder shall be required.
7.14.8 A member of the public can speak to an ECCIP item if they follow the
delegation process, then the ECCIP item will be linked in the agenda.
7.14.9 The pulled item will be included on the agenda of the appropriate Standing
Committee if submitted to the Clerk prior to the Agenda deadline and if it is
not restricted under section 2.5. For clarity, this will not be the meeting three
calendar days from when the ECCIP was published, but rather a future
meeting.
7.14.10 If a Member submits a request to pull an ECCIP item to the Municipal Clerk
after the Committee Agenda Deadline and prior to the Committee Agenda
Update Deadline, it will be included in the Committee Agenda Update under
the “Items for Separate Discussion” of the agenda, and it will require a 2/3
vote of the Members present, and voting at the meeting, to be added to the
agenda for discussion. A note for the “required 2/3 vote to be discussed” will
be added to the agenda.
7.14.11 If a Member submits an ECCIP item, that is not included in the agenda (i.e.
after the Agenda Update Deadline), it shall not be considered until the next
appropriate Regular Committee meeting.
7.14.12 If the mover is not present at the meeting, and no other Member wishes to
move the item, the item shall not be considered and will need to follow the
notice provisions for the next applicable meeting.
7.14.130 Communications which, in the opinion of the Clerk require action by Council
shall be included on a Council or Committee agenda under
Communications and shall include a recommendation for disposal.
7.14.141 Every communication to be presented to Council or Committee, shall be
legibly written or printed, shall not contain any impertinent or improper
matter or language, shall identify the author(s) including their name and
address, and shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk.
7.14.152 Communications to be posted to the website may be abridged as
determined by the Municipal Clerk to facilitate posting.
7.14.163 Communications related to a previous decision of Council shall not be
considered by Council or a Committee within the same term of Council
following the decision, unless a motion to reconsider or re-introduce the
matter is presented to Council by a Member, or a report on the matter is
included on the agenda.
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7.15 Staff Reports and Staff Memos
7.15.1 The Staff Reports and Staff Memos Section of the Council agenda may
include Removal of a Holding Symbol report upon urgent circumstances as
determined by the Deputy CAO,/Director of Planning and Infrastructure
Services and any Staff report that, due to timing, urgency, the important
nature of the report and/or expediency, the Chief Administrative Officer
determines should be considered by Council without first being presented to
Committee for consideration.
7.15.2 The Staff Reports and Staff Memos sections of the Standing Committees
agendas, shall be pertaining to the Committee mandate, or other such
matter as may be referred to the Committee by Council.
7.16 New Business
7.16.1 New Business items shall not be added to the Council agenda. New
Business items may be added to a Standing Committee agenda and shall
be regarding the mandate of the appropriate Standing Committee.
7.16.1.1 Notwithstanding subsection 7.16.1, Members of Council are permitted to
add an agenda item to the “Items for Separate Discussion” section of the
Council agenda (not a Standing Committee) to override a Strong Mayors’
Mayoral veto by providing notice to the Clerk prior to the meeting, in
accordance with the Council override provisions of the Strong Mayor
powers within Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act.
7.16.1.2 Despite any provision in this Procedural By-law and subject to any
prescribed requirements, if the Mayor is of the opinion that a particular
matter could potentially advance a prescribed provincial priority, the Mayor
may require the Council to consider the matter at either a Standing
Committee or Council meeting, without notice, in accordance with the
Strong Mayor powers within Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act.
7.16.2 Members may only introduce a motion on New Business provided that the
matter was introduced in accordance with the notice provisions.
7.16.3 Notice of New Business items will be satisfied if a Member submits a New
Business item, in writing, to the Municipal Clerk prior to the Committee
Agenda deadline.
7.16.4 Any changes in wording to a New Business item after publication of the
Agenda, shall require an amendment of the motion at the meeting.
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7.16.5 If a Member submits a New Business item to the Municipal Clerk after the
Committee Agenda Deadline and prior to the Committee Agenda Update
Deadline, it will be included in the Committee Agenda Update under the
appropriate section of the agenda, and it will require a 2/3 vote of the
Members present, and voting at the meeting, to be added to the agenda for
discussion. A note for the “required 2/3 vote to be discussed” will be added
to the agenda.
7.16.6 If a Member submits a New Business Item, that is not included in the
agenda, it shall be in writing, and shall not be considered until the next
appropriate Regular Committee meeting.
7.16.7 No A seconder will shall be required at the time of providing notice of the
New Business item.
7.16.8 If a New Business Item is on the agenda, but the mover is not present at the
meeting, and no other Member wishes to move the item, the item shall not
be considered and will need to follow the notice provisions for the next
applicable meeting.
7.17 Business Arising from Procedural Notices of Motion
7.17.1 A Procedural Notice of Motion introducing a motion to amend something
previously adopted by Council, to lift a matter from the table, to rescind a
previous decision of Council, or to reconsider a previous decision of
Council, shall only be considered at a Council meeting and shall be given to
the Municipal Clerk including the date when it will be considered in writing,
from the mover and seconder, prior to the Agenda Deadline. Procedural
Notices of Motion received after the Agenda Deadline shall be placed on the
next regular Council agenda.
7.17.2 Where a Procedural Notice of Motion has been given under subsection
7.17.1, for a “motion to amend something previously adopted by Council” or
a “reconsideration”, the details of the amendment and proposed new
resolution for a reconsideration respectively shall be included in the
Procedural Notice of Motion.
7.17.3 Where a Procedural Notice of Motion has been given under Sub-section
7.17.1, the Procedural Notice of Motion shall be printed in full in the Agenda
for that meeting of Council and each succeeding meeting until the motion is
considered or otherwise disposed of.
7.17.4 When a Member’s Procedural Notice of Motion has been called by the Chair
at two successive meetings and not proceeded with, it shall be removed
from the agenda for all subsequent Meetings, unless Council otherwise
decided.
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7.17.5 The Member who moved, or seconded, the procedural notice of motion is
not required to be present when the related procedural notice of motion is
considered. However, a new mover or seconder will be required for the
notice of motion to be in order.
7.18 Unfinished Business
7.18.1 Any matters presented, considered, referred, tabled, or deferred, or any
items not otherwise disposed of through the consideration of an agenda
matter, shall be disposed of during this portion of the Meeting.
7.1819 Confidential Items
7.1819.1 The Confidential Items Section of the Agenda shall include any confidential
items that, due to the nature of the item should be considered in a closed
meeting in accordance with of this Procedural By-law.
7.1920 By-laws
7.1920.1 No by-law, except:
a by-law to confirm the proceedings of Council;
a by-law granting authority to borrow under the authority of the Municipal
Act, 2001;
any by-law arising as the result of an order or decision of any judicial or
quasi-judicial body; or
a part lot control by-law;
removal of holding symbol;
shall be presented to Council unless the subject matter thereof has been
considered and approved by Council or by Committee.
7.1920.1.1 Despite any provision in this Procedural By-law and subject to any
prescribed requirements, if the Mayor is of the opinion that a by -law could
potentially advance a prescribed provincial priority, the Mayor may propose
the by-law to the Council and require the Council to consider and vote on
the proposed by-law at either a Standing Committee or a Council meeting,
without notice, other than notice prescribed in Statutes, in accordance with
the Strong Mayor powers within Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act.
7.1920.2 All by-laws shall be passed in a single motion, unless a Member wishes to
discuss the contents of the by-law, at which time the subject by-law shall be
divided from the motion and dealt with separately.
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7.1920.3 Every by-law, when introduced, shall be in typewritten form, and shall
contain no blanks except such as may be required to conform to accepted
procedure or to comply with the provision of any Statute, and shall be
complete with the exception of the number and date of the by-law.
7.1920.4 Every by-law shall be numbered and dated, signed by the Mayor and the
Municipal Clerk, sealed with the seal of the Municipality, and retained under
the control of the Municipal Clerk.
Section 8 – Petitions
8.1 An organizer of a public petition may submit the petition for inclusion on the
appropriate Committee agenda. The organizer shall provide their name,
address, email, and telephone number with the petition. No petition shall be
considered valid and accepted by the Municipal Clerk without the name and
contact information of the organizer.
8.2 Any communication with respect to the petition will be with the organizer of
the petition only.
8.3 Petitions shall contain the printed name, signature, and municipal address
of the individuals signing it. Signatures without contact information, or who
are not Clarington residents, shall be redacted by the individual or group
submitting the Petition or it will not be accepted by the Municipal Clerk nor
placed on an agenda.
8.4 The Municipal Clerk shall refuse to place a petition on the agenda where the
subject matter does not meet the Communications criteria as outlined
elsewhere in this By-law;
Involves matters listed in section 2.5.
8.5 Signatories to a petition are deemed to have waived any expectation of
privacy as a result of the record being created for review by the general
public.
8.6 Petitions may be placed on agendas at the discretion of the Municipal Clerk,
or the petition may be summarized with a total number of signatories
included.
Section 9 – Rules of Debate and Conduct
9.1 Conduct of Members of Council or Members of Committees
9.1.1 No Member shall:
a) speak disrespectfully of any elected assembly;
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b) use offensive words or unparliamentary language or speak
disrespectfully against the Council, against any Member, or against
any officer or employee of the Municipality, past or present;
c) speak on any subject other than the subject in debate;
d) disobey the Rules of Procedure or a decision of the Chair, on
questions of Points of Order or procedure or upon the interpretation
of the Rules of Procedure except where the ruling of the Chair is
reversed by Council pursuant to Sub-section 10.6.2. If a Member
persists in any such disobedience after having been called to order
by the Chair, the Chair shall forthwith order the Member to shall
abide by the ruling to vacate the Council Chambers ormeeting
room in which the Meeting is being heldor electronic meeting, or
remove the Member from an electronic meeting but if the Member
apologizes they may, by majority vote of the Members, be
permitted to retake their seat; or
e) where a matter has been discussed in a closed Meeting, and where
the matter remains confidential, disclose the content of the matter
or the substance of the deliberations of the closed Meeting to any
person.
f) use a meeting as a forum to speak on, or address, any matter
relating to a campaign.
9.2 Address the Chair
9.2.1 Any Member desiring to speak shall signify their desire to speak in such a
manner as the Chair may direct, and upon being recognized by them, shall
address the Chair.
9.3 Order of Speaking
9.3.1 When two, or more, Members signify a desire to speak, the Chair shall
recognize the Member who, in the opinion of the Chair, so signified first and
next recognize in order the other Members.
9.3.2 Members may ask questions of Staff, with the Chair’s permission, during
any portion of a Council or Committee meeting if it pertains to a matter on
the Agenda.
Formatted: Not Highlight
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9.4 Point of Privilege
9.4.1 Where a Member considers that their rights or integrity or the rights or
integrity of the Council or Committee as a whole have been challenged, as
a matter of Privilege, the Member may rise on a Point of Privilege at any
time, with the consent of the Chair, for the purpose of drawing the attention
of Council or Committee to the matter.
9.4.2 A Member who desires to address Council or Committee, as the case may
be, on a matter which concerns the rights or privileges of the Council
collectively, or as an individual Member, will be permitted to raise such Point
of Privilege. A Point of Privilege will take precedence over other matters.
When a Member raises a Point of Privilege, the Chair may use the words
“Councillor…state your Point of Privilege”. While the Chair is ruling on the
Point of Privilege, no one will be considered to be in possession of the floor,
but thereafter the Member in possession of the floor when the Point of
Privilege was raised, has the right to the floor when debate resumes.
9.4.3 Points of Privilege will only be recorded in the minutes if there is an appeal
of the ruling of the Chair.
9.5 Point of Order
9.5.1 The Chair shall preserve order and decide on Points of Order.
9.5.2 A Member who desires to call attention to a violation of the Rules of
Procedure will ask leave of the Chair to raise a Point of Order. When leave
is granted, the Chair may use the words “Councillor…state your Point of
Order.” The Member will state the Point of Order with a concise explanation
and will comply with the decision of the Chair. The Member in possession of
the floor when the Point of Order was raised has the right to the floor when
debate resumes.
9.5.3 Points of Order will only be recorded in the minutes if there is an appeal of
the ruling of the Chair.
9.6 Appeal of Ruling of Chair
9.6.1 With respect to a ruling on either a Point of Privilege or Point of Order, if the
Member does not appeal immediately thereafter to Council or Committee,
as the case may be, the decision of the Chair shall be final.
9.6.2 If the decision is appealed, the Chair will give concise reasons for their
ruling, and will call a vote by Council or Committee, as the case may be,
without debate on the following question: “Will the ruling be sustained?”,
and the decision of Council or Committee is final. The Chair may vote on
this question. In the event of a tie vote, the ruling of the Chair shall be
deemed to be sustained.
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9.6.3 A Member may request a recorded vote for an appeal of the ruling of the
Chair.
9.7 Members Speaking
9.7.1 When a Member is speaking, no other Member shall pass between the
Member and the Chair or interrupt the Member except to raise a Point of
Order or Privilege.
9.8 Motion Read
9.8.1 Any Member may request the motion under discussion to be read at any
time during the debate but not so as to interrupt a Member while they are
speaking.
9.9 Speak Once - Reply
9.9.1 No Member shall speak more than once to the same motion without leave of
Council or Committee, by a simple majority vote, except that a reply shall be
allowed to be made by a Member if they are asked a question.
9.9.2 Notwithstanding section 9.9.1, Members may ask questions of each
Member of the Public speaking at a Planning Public Meeting.
9.10 Time Limit
9.10.1 No Member, without leave of Council or Committee, as the case may be,
shall speak to the same motion or in reply for longer than five (5) minutes.
9.11 Questions
9.11.1 A Member may ask a question for the purpose of obtaining information
relating only to the matter under discussion and such questions must be
stated concisely and asked only through the Chair.
9.11.2 Notwithstanding Sub-section 9.11.1, when a Member has been recognized
as the next speaker, such Member may ask a question through the Chair to
any Member, the Chief Administrative Officer, or Department HeadDeputy
CAO, or designate, but only for the purpose of obtaining information on
matters contained on the Agenda, following which the Member may speak.
9.12 Motions
Reading
9.12.1 When a motion is presented in a Meeting, it shall be read by the Member,
or, if it is a motion which may be presented orally as provided in this
Procedural By-law it shall be stated by the Chair before debate.
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9.12.2 Notwithstanding Sub-section 9.12.1, a motion, the wording of which is
printed in the agenda as either a separate item or as part of a report, need
not be read in its entirety unless requested to do so by a Member, but shall
be deemed to have been read for the purposes of introducing the motion.
Withdrawn
9.12.3 After a motion is properly moved and seconded, it shall be deemed to be in
possession of Council or Committee but may be withdrawn by the mover or
seconder at any time before the motion is put to a vote. If a mover or
seconder wishes to withdraw the motion, the Chair shall may ask if another
Member wishes to move or second the motion before it is considered
withdrawn.
Seconding
9.12.4(a) No Member shall speak to any motion until it is properly moved and
seconded, and the mover is entitled to speak first if the Member so elects. If
debated, the motion may be read before being put.
9.12.4(b) Notwithstanding subsection 9.12.4(a), if the Mayor is invoking Strong Mayor
powers within Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act for Council to consider and vote
on a particular by-law, the Mayor shall be the mover and no seconder shall
be required.
9.12.4(c) Notwithstanding subsection 9.12.4(a), if the Mayor is invoking Strong Mayor
powers within Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act for Council to consider a matter,
the matter may be dealt with as the Committee or Council sees fit through
the normal course of a mover, seconder, and voting on a motion.
9.12.5 If no Member seconds the motion, the motion shall not be on the floor for
consideration and therefore it shall not be recorded in the minutes unless it
was in the agenda.
Motion Ruled Out of Order
9.12.6 Whenever the Chair is of the opinion that a motion is contrary to these
Rules of Procedure, the Chair shall rule the motion out of order.
Not within jurisdiction of Council
9.12.7 A motion in respect of a matter which, in the opinion of the Municipal
Solicitor, requires the exercise of a legislative power by Council which is not
within its jurisdiction, shall not be in order at a Meeting of Council or
Committee unless it is for purposes of requesting a higher level of
government to make changes to policy or legislation.
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Motions Without Notice and Without Leave
9.12.8 The following motions may be introduced orally by a Member without notice
and without leave, except as otherwise provided by this Procedural By -law,
and may be debated:
a) To adopt the Minutes;
b) To approve/receive the Standing Committee or Advisory Committee
Minutes;
c) To pass By-laws; and
d) To dispense with Consent Agendas.
Motion in Writing
9.12.9 Except as provided in this Procedural By-law, all motions introduced at a
Meeting shall be in writing.
Priority of Disposition
9.12.10 A motion properly before Council or Committee for decision must be
disposed of before any other motion can be received except a motion that
may be introduced orally in accordance with this Procedural By-law.
Motion to Receive for Information or With Thanks
9.12.11 A motion to receive a matter for information or with thanks:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be submitted orally;
d) May be debated;
e) May be amended;
f) May include additional instructions, and such instructions shall be
submitted in writing;
g) Shall require a majority vote to be adopted;
h) If adopted, shall require that debate on the matter cease and the
meeting proceed to the next item of business.
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9.12.12 Where Council or Committee has adopted a resolution to receive a matter
for information, further motions pertaining to that matter may be introduced
at a later time without requiring a motion to reconsider.
Motions from Members Before Agenda Update Deadline
9.12.13 If the Clerk receives, prior to the Agenda Update Deadline, a motion from a
Member of Council regarding an item on the agenda, the Clerk shall place
the submitted motion on the Agenda under the section, “Items for Separate
Discussion”.
9.12.14 A seconder shall be required at the time of submission to the Clerk.
9.12.15 If the Member who submitted the motion is not present at the meeting, and
no other Member moves the submitted motion, the submitted motion shall
not be considered.
9.12.16 If multiple motions are received regarding the same item:
a) Duplicates of a recommended or existing motion will not be
accepted or added to the agenda.
b) Motions will be placed on the Agenda in the order received and
considered at the Meeting in that order.
Motion to Alter the Agenda
9.12.173 A motion to alter the agenda:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be introduced orally;
d) Shall not be debated;
e) May be amended, and such amendments shall not be debated;
f) Shall not include additional instructions;
g) Shall require a Majority Vote to be adopted; and
h) If adopted, shall require that the Chair of the meeting address
matters on the agenda in accordance with the amended order of
business.
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Motion to Refer
9.12.194 A Motion to Refer a matter:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be submitted orally;
d) May be debated (time/place/instructions only);
e) May be amended;
f) May include additional instructions, and such instructions shall
include, to whom the matter is to be referred, which may be Council,
Committee, a Department or a person, and the terms for referring the
matter and the time period, if any, on or within which the matter is to
be returned;
g) Shall be considered before all amendments to the main motion are
considered;
h) Shall require a Majority Vote to be adopted; and
i) If resolved in the affirmative, shall require that consideration of the
motion immediately cease and the meeting proceed to the next item
of business.
9.12.195 A motion to refer a matter where an amendment is currently under
consideration, shall be considered a motion to refer the original matter and
any amendments.
9.12.2016 If communication items, or delegations, are referred to another Agenda item
which is subsequently referred to a future meeting, there is no need to
include the communication items, or delegations, in the Agenda of the
subsequent meeting.
9.12.2117 To allow for transparency for the public, if a Standing Committee refers an
item to a future meeting, Council shall not consider the item without a ¾
majority vote prior to the future meeting to which it was referred.
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Motion to Defer
9.12.2218 A motion to Defer a matter:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be submitted orally;
d) May be debated (time/place only);
e) May be amended;
f) Shall include the time and place to which the matter is proposed to
be deferred;
g) Shall not include additional instructions;
h) Shall require a Majority Vote to be adopted; and
i) If resolved in the affirmative, shall require that consideration of the
motion immediately cease and the meeting proceed to the next item
of business, and the matter shall be added to the agenda of the
future meeting to which it was deferred.
9.12.2319 To allow for transparency for the public, if a Standing Committee defers an
item to a future meeting, Council shall not consider the item without a ¾
majority vote prior to the future meeting to which it was deferred.
Motion to Amend
9.12.2420 A motion to amend another motion at a meeting:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) Shall be presented in writing if requested by the Chair;
d) Shall relate to the subject matter of the main motion;
e) Shall not be received proposing a direct negative to the motion it
seeks to amend;
f) May be debated;
g) May itself be amended, however only one amendment to an
amendment may be considered at a time;
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h) Shall require a majority vote to be adopted;
i) Shall be put to a vote in reverse order to the order in which the
amendments are made; and
j) If resolved in the affirmative, shall require that consideration of the
motion continue as amended.
Motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted
9.12.2521 A motion to amend something previously adopted:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall require notice to be given in accordance with this Procedural
By-law;
c) Shall be submitted in writing;
d) May be debated, however debate shall be confined to reasons for or
against the subject of the amendment;
e) May be amended;
f) May seek to amend all or only a portion of a motion;
g) Shall only be considered by Council;
h) Shall require a 2/3 Majority Vote to be adopted if the motion was
adopted in the current term of Council or a simple majority vote if the
motion was adopted by a previous term of Council; and
i) If decided in the affirmative, shall require that amendment of the
matter become the next item of business, unless the motion calls for
a future date, and debate on the amended motion may proceed as
though it previously had never been voted on.
9.12.2622 No “motion to amend something previously adopted” shall be in order when
the original motion has been implemented resulting in a legally binding
commitment that is in place on the date that a motion to amend, is to be
debated.
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Motion to Call the Vote
9.12.2723 A motion that a vote on the matter be now taken:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member who has not already
spoken on the matter;
b) May be made only by a Member who is recognized by the Chair and
is on the Chair’s list of Members wishing to speak to the motion;
c) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
d) May be submitted orally;
e) Shall not be debated;
f) Shall not be amended;
g) Shall not include additional instructions;
h) May be proposed with respect to any motion currently under
consideration;
i) Shall require a 2/3 Majority Vote to be adopted; and
j) If resolved in the affirmative, shall require that the motion be put to a
vote immediately without further debate.
Motion to Table
9.12.2824 A motion to Table a matter:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be submitted orally;
d) Shall not be debated;
e) Shall not be amended;
f) Shall not include additional instructions;
g) Shall require a Majority Vote to be adopted; and
h) If resolved in the affirmative, shall require that consideration of the
motion immediately cease and the meeting proceed to the next item
of business.
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9.12.28256 The matter tabled shall not be considered again by the Council or
Committee until a motion has been made to lift from the table the tabled
matter at the same or a subsequent Meeting.
9.12.3026 A matter tabled at a Meeting of Committee may be lif ted from the table by
Council.
9.12.3127 A matter tabled at Council may not be lifted from the table at a Meeting of
Committee.
9.12.3228 A motion to table shall only be used to table a matter indefinitely. For clarity,
if Council/Committee wishes to consider a matter at a future meeting, a
motion to refer or defer would be in order.
9.12.3329 A motion that has been tabled at a previous Meeting cannot be lifted from
the table unless notice thereof is given in accordance with Sub-section 7.14.
Motion to Divide
9.12.3430 A motion to divide a motion:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be submitted orally;
d) Shall not be debated;
e) Shall not be amended;
f) Shall not include additional instructions;
g) May propose that one or more clauses in a motion be voted upon
separately, if they are distinct proposals;
h) Shall require a Majority Vote to be adopted; and
i) If resolved in the affirmative, shall allow for debate and voting on
each clause of the motion separately, starting with the balance of the
motion, then the clauses that have been divided.
9.12.35 The divided clauses shall have the same mover and seconder as the
original motion.
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Motion to Rescind
9.12.3632 A motion to rescind a previous resolution of Council:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall require notice to be given in accordance with this Procedural
By-law;
c) Shall be submitted in writing;
d) May be debated;
e) May be amended;
f) Shall not include additional instructions;
g) May seek to rescind all, or only a portion, of a motion;
h) Shall only be considered by Council;
i) Shall require a 2/3 Majority Vote to be adopted if the resolution to be
rescinded was adopted within the current term of Council or a simple
majority vote if the motion was adopted by a previous term of
Council; and
j) If decided in the affirmative, requires that the rescinded resolution
previously adopted by Council is immediately of no further force or
effect.
9.12.37334 A motion to rescind is not in order when action has been taken on the order
of Council which it is impossible to reverse. The part of an order of Council
which has not been acted upon, however, may be rescinded.
Motion to Reconsider
9.12.3834 A Motion to reconsider a previous resolution of Council:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall require notice to be given in accordance with this Procedural
By-law;
c) Shall be submitted in writing;
d) May be debated, however debate shall be confined to reasons for or
against the subject of the reconsideration;
e) May be amended;
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f) May seek to reconsider all or only a portion of a motion;
g) Shall only be considered by Council;
h) Shall require a 2/3 Majority Vote to be adopted if the motion was
adopted in the current term of Council or a simple majority vote if the
motion was adopted by a previous term of Council; and
i) If decided in the affirmative, shall require that reconsideration of the
matter become the next item of business, unless the motion calls for
a future date, and debate on the reconsidered motion may proceed
as though it previously had never been voted on.
9.12.3935 No discussion of the main motion shall be allowed until the motion to
reconsider is adopted.
9.12.4036 If a motion to reconsider is decided in the affirmative at a Meeting, the
previously adopted resolution of Council remains in force unless and until
Council adopts a new resolution.
9.12.4137 A vote to reconsider a particular matter, or decision, will not be considered
more than once during the term of Council.
9.12.4238 Where a written decision of the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) identifies
findings with regard to an appeal and delivers those findings to Council to
make a new decision, the matter shall be placed as soon as practicable on
the PD Committee meeting agenda by way of a staff report, following
receipt of the written decision from OLT. The matter shall be deemed not to
be a "reconsideration" under this By-law.
9.12.4339 No motion to reconsider a decided matter of Council shall be in order when
the original motion has been implemented resulting in a legally binding
commitment that is in place on the date that a motion to reconsider is to be
debated.
Motion to Suspend the Rules of Procedure
9.12.4440 A motion to suspend the rules of procedure:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be introduced orally;
d) Shall not be debated;
e) Shall not be amended;
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f) Shall not include additional instructions;
g) Shall require a Three-Quarters Vote to be adopted; and
h) If adopted, shall require the Chair of the meeting to observe and
enforce the rules of procedure as altered by the resolution.
Motion to Recess
9.12.4541 A motion to recess a meeting:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be introduced orally;
d) Shall not be debated;
e) May be amended, and such amendments shall not be debated;
f) Shall specify the amount of time the meeting shall stand recessed;
g) Shall not include additional instructions;
h) Shall require a Majority Vote to be adopted; and
i) If resolved in the affirmative, requires that the Chair declare a recess
and state the time that the meeting is scheduled to resume, which
shall neither end the Meeting nor destroy its continuity and after
which, proceedings shall immediately resume at the point where they
were interrupted.
Motion to Adjourn
9.12.4642 A motion to adjourn a meeting:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) May be introduced orally;
d) Shall not be debated;
e) Shall not be amended;
f) Shall not include additional instructions;
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g) Shall be in order except:
i. When a Member is speaking or during the taking of a vote;
ii. immediately following the affirmative resolution of a motion
that a vote on the matter be now taken; and
iii. When a Member has already indicated to the Chair that they
wish to speak on the matter.
h) Shall require a Majority Vote to be adopted;
i) If resolved in the negative, shall not be made again until Council has
conducted further proceedings; and
j) If resolved in the affirmative, shall require that the meeting be
adjourned immediately.
9.12.4743 A motion to proceed beyond the scheduled adjournment time:
a) May be moved or seconded by any Member;
b) Shall not require notice to be introduced;
c) may be introduced orally;
d) Shall not be debated;
e) Shall not be amended;
f) Shall not include additional instructions;
g) Shall be in order except when a Member is speaking or the Members
are voting;
h) Shall require a 3/4 Vote to be adopted;
i) If resolved in the negative, the meeting shall be adjourned unless an
alternative extension is proposed by a Member; and
j) If resolved in the affirmative, shall require the Chair to continue the
meeting until all matters are dealt with or until the new scheduled
adjournment time.
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9.13 Voting on Motions
9.13.1 Immediately preceding the taking of the vote on a motion, the Chair may
state the question in the form introduced and shall do so if required by a
Member.
9.13.2 After a question is finally put by the Chair no Member shall speak to the
question nor shall any other motion be made until after the vote is taken and
the result has been declared.
9.13.3 If, during the call of the vote, there is ambiguity by a Member on what is
being voted on, the Member may be afforded the clarity, the call for vote
may start again, and a Member is entitled to change their vote.
9.13.4 Every Member present at a Meeting, when a question is put, shall vote
thereon unless disqualified under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act to
vote on the question.
9.13.5 Except where the Member is disqualified under the Municipal Conflict of
Interest Act from voting, if a Member does not vote when a question is put,
the member shall be deemed to have voted in the negative.
9.13.6 A Member not in their seat when the question is called by the Chair is not
entitled to vote on that question.
9.13.7 Each Member has only one vote.
9.13.8 The vote required to pass a motion shall be a simple majority except as
otherwise provided by this Procedural By-law or by Statute.
9.13.9 Where a vote is taken and a tie results, the motion shall be deemed to have
been decided in the negative.
9.13.10 Except for a Recorded Vote, the Chair shall announce the result of every
vote.
Unrecorded Vote
9.13.11 The manner of determining the decision of the Council or Committee on a
motion shall be at the discretion of the Chair and may be by voice, show of
hands, or otherwise.
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Recorded Vote
9.13.12 A Recorded Vote shall be in order at Council, Committee and Local Board
meetings, and may be requested immediately before or after the taking of
the vote.
9.13.13 When a Recorded Vote is requested by a Member during a Meeting, or is
otherwise required, the Municipal Clerk shall record the name and vote of
every Member.
9.13.14 The order in which Members vote on recorded votes shall be in alphabetical
order of the Members present and voting, commencing with the Member
who made the request and continuing through the alphabet and then back
to the beginning of the alphabet, if necessary, until all Members have voted.
The Chair shall vote last.
9.13.15 If a request for a recorded vote is made by the Chair, the order in which
Member’s vote shall be in alphabetical order of the Members present and
voting. The Chair shall vote first.
9.13.16 The Municipal Clerk, shall announce the results of the Recorded Vote.
9.14 Conduct of the Audience
9.14.1 Members of the public who constitute the audience in the Council Chamber
or adjacent to the Meeting room, or in an electronic meeting, or other such
place where the Meeting is held in accordance with Sub-section 4.1 of this
Procedural By-law, during a Meeting, shall maintain order and quiet and
may not:
a) Address Council or Committee without permission;
b) Interrupt any speaker or action of the Members or any other person
addressing Council or Committee;
c) Speak out and shall refrain from public outbursts, heckling, shouting,
making comments, or behaviour intended to disrupt the debate,
discussion and/or general proceedings;
d) Clap, except following award presentations;
e) Behave in a disorderly manner or be disrespectful of Council, Staff,
delegations, or any member of the audience;
f) Engage in conversations or make any other noise, or sound, that
proves disruptive to the conduct of the meeting; or
g) Display placards or props.
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Section 10 - Implementation
10.1 Any omissions, or failure to strictly comply, with this By-law or any other
municipal legislation (including any notice which is substantively given but is
irregular) will not invalidate the holding of a meeting or any proceeding or
decision taken at the meeting.
10.2 If a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction declares any portion of this By-
law to be illegal or unenforceable, that portion of this By-law shall be
considered to be severed from the balance of the By-law, which shall
continue to operate in full force and effect.
10.3 By-law 2023-033, and all amendments thereto, are hereby repealed.
10.4 This Procedural By-law shall come into full force and effect on the date of
passing.
Passed in Open Council this XX day of MMMM, YYYY.
_____________________________________
Adrian Foster, Mayor
_____________________________________
June Gallagher, Municipal Clerk
Written approval of this by-law was given by Mayoral Decision MDE-YYYY-XXX dated
XXXX XX, YYYY.