Municipal Election Issues

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RAISING THE PROFILE OF TRUSTEE IN YOUR COMMUNITY

Ministry Communications Re 2010 Trustee Elections

The Labour Relations and Governance Branch of the Ministry has issued memos in recent weeks with regard to Trustee Positions for the 2010 Municipal Elections:

• March 4, 2010 - Memo re: Elections to and Representation on District School Boards and Honoraria for School Boards

Elections to and Representation on District School Boards -- This is a follow up to the February 9th memo that indicates the amendments to Regulation 412/00 were filed on February 26th and are now in force. These amendments were made to reflect the changes from Bill 177. The number of elected trustees in each board is now set at the number determined for the 2006 regular election and applies for the 2010 election and all future elections. Please note: Boards, still have the ability to reduce their number of elected trustees and those trustees whose jurisdictions increased in 2009 due to mergers with isolate boards, can request the Minster to increase its number of trustees.

The Trustee Determination and Distribution Guide and online calculator have also been updated and are available on the Ministry website for Trustee elections. Boards must determine and distribute their number of trustees position by March 31, 2010.

Honoraria for Board Members -- Currently, under regulation 357/06, the honorarium at each board is established in an election year by the outgoing trustees prior to October 31 and after consultation with a local citizens' advisory committee. The Ministry intends to amend this deadline to October 15th to reflect the earlier date for the upcoming municipal elections. Under Bill 212, which received Royal Assent in December, Voting Day for 2010 is October 25, 2010.

• January 20, 2010 - Memo re Requests for Additional Trustees (1.24M pdf)
  This was directed to school boards whose area of jurisdiction was increased as a result of isolate board mergers. The memo indicated a deadline of March 15, 2010 for the boards concerned to make a request to the Minister for additional trustees.
• February 9, 2010 - Memo re Determination and Distribution of Trustee Positions (98K pdf)
  This memo to all Directors of Education covered such matters as: Proposed amendments to O. Regulation 412/00 "Elections to and Representation on District School Boards"; the deadline of March 31, 2010 for boards to determine and distribute the number of trustee positions; the deadline April 3, 2010 for boards to report to the Minister; a reminder re making schools available on request to be used as polling stations on Voting Day (October 25, 2010); and the new requirement for boards to appoint an elections compliance audit committee by October 1, 2010.

Full details are in the Memos referenced above.

Municipal Elections 2010 Guide

The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA) was recently amended by the Good Government Act, 2009 (Bill 212). Reforms to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 will be in effect for the 2010 municipal election. They will:

• make local elections more transparent, accountable and efficient
• create a more level playing field for all candidates
• promote greater accessibility for voters and candidates with disabilities
• apply to the election of municipal officials and school board trustees.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has produced a revised electronic Municipal Elections 2010 Guide. The Guide is a great information resource and contains a FAQ. 

KEY DATES FOR NEXT MUNICIPAL ELECTION — 2010

On December 3, 2009, Bill 212 Good Government Act, 2009 was passed. The Ministry issued a media release.

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs has amended Bill 212 and it is currently being debated at Third Reading.

On Monday November 23, 2009 OPSBA sent a letter to the Chair and Clerk of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. The letter outlined our areas of support and identified concerns regarding Bill 212  Good Government Act, 2009,  and the proposed changes to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

On October 27, 2009, Attorney General Chris Bentley introduced the Good Government Act, 2009, an omnibus bill that includes amendments to a number of Acts and affects 24 different ministries. The main amendments proposed to the Municipal Elections Act are: Election Calendar, Accessibility, Campaign Finance and Contribution Limits, Voter List, Voting Process and Election Compliance and Enforcement.

Click here for more information about the proposed changes to the Municipal Elections Act

Click here for the Municipal Elections Guide 2006

Municipal Elections Act Extraction from Bill 212

Ministry News Release

Ministry Backgrounder

Municipal Elections Act Amendments

In June 2007, the following position was approved by the OPSBA Board of Directors. 

That OPSBA propose that the Municipal Elections Act be amended to include a restriction from changing school support between September 1 and the date of the election, inclusive, in a municipal election year, except in situations where property residency and/or ownership changes or to correct demonstrable erroneous information.

Schools as Polling Stations

The following position was approved by the OPSBA Board of Directors in June 2007: 

That OPSBA correspond with its member boards asking them to consider statutorily declared election dates when setting discretionary professional development dates within school year calendars. 

Please see the letter sent to the Education Minister and the Municipal Affairs Minister on these issues which is attached below.