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Bill 206, Transparency in Public Matters Act, 2002

Di Cocco, Caroline

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[37] Bill 206 Original (PDF)

Bill 206 2002

An Act to require

open meetings for provincial

and municipal boards, commissions

and other public bodies

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative

Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Application and Definition

Application and definition

(1) In this Act,

"Information and Privacy Commissioner" means the Commissioner appointed

under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

("commissaire à l'information et à la protection de la vie

privée")

Application

(2) This Act applies to,

(

a) designated public bodies,

(

i) listed as designated public bodies in

Part I of the

Schedule to this

Act, and

(ii) prescribed as designated public bodies by the regulations made under

this Act; and

(

b) types of designated public bodies,

(

i) listed as the type of public body that is a designated public body in

Part II of the

Schedule to this Act, and

(ii) prescribed as a type of designated public body by the regulations

made under this Act.

Committees

(3) Sections 2, 3, 4 and 5 apply, with necessary modifications,

to the committees of designated public bodies.

Open Meetings

Purpose

(1) The purpose of this Act is

to provide public access that is as open as possible to meetings of

designated public bodies and to the minutes of those meetings.

Meetings to which Act applies

(2) This Act applies to any meeting of a designated public body

if the purpose of the meeting is the making of a decision or recommendation,

the taking of an action or the giving of advice in respect of any matter or

matters within the jurisdiction or terms of reference of the public body

and,

(

a) a sufficient number of the members of the public body are invited to

attend to constitute a quorum; or

(

b) a sufficient number of the members of the public body attend so as to

constitute a quorum.

Meetings - open to the public

(1) Meetings of designated

public bodies shall be open to the public.

Exception

(2) Despite subsection (1), a designated public body may

exclude the public from a meeting or part of a meeting if,

(

a) financial, personal or other matters may be disclosed of such a nature

that the desirability of avoiding public disclosure of them in the interest

of any person affected or in the public interest outweighs the desirability

of adhering to the principle that meetings be open to the public;

(

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

prejudiced;

(

c) the safety of a person may be jeopardized;

(

d) personnel matters involving an identifiable individual, including an

employee of the designated public body, will be discussed;

(

e) negotiations or anticipated negotiations between the designated public

body and a person, bargaining agent or party to a proceeding or an

anticipated proceeding relating to labour relations or a person's employment

by the designated public body will be discussed;

(

f) litigation affecting the designated public body will be discussed or

instructions will be given to or opinions received from solicitors for the

designated public body;

(

g) matters prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under clause

13 (

b) will be discussed; or

(

h) the designated public body will deliberate whether to exclude the

public from a meeting or part of a meeting, and the deliberation will

consider whether one or more of clauses (

a) through (

g) are applicable to the

meeting or part of the meeting.

Motion stating reasons

(3) A designated public body shall not exclude the public from

a meeting before a vote is held on a motion to exclude the public, which

motion must clearly state the nature of the matter to be considered at the

closed meeting and the general reasons why the public is being excluded.

Taking of vote

(4) The meeting shall not be closed to the public during the

taking of the vote on the motion under subsection (3).

Minutes

(5) The minutes of a designated public body shall record any

motion moved under subsection (3), including the nature of the matter to be

considered and the reasons for excluding the public that are stated in the

motion.

Offence - exclusion from meeting

(1) If a designated public body

excludes the public from a meeting or part of a meeting and none of the

circumstances listed in subsection 3 (2) apply, each member of the designated

public body who was in attendance at the meeting or part of the meeting is

guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than

$1,000.

Defence

(2) A member of a designated public body is not guilty of an

offence under subsection (1) if he or she,

(

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

(

b) did not object on the record to excluding the public from the meeting

in the good faith belief that one of the circumstances listed in subsection 3

(2) applied.

Offence - head or chairperson

(3) If the person who is convicted of an offence under

subsection (1) is the head or chairperson of the designated public body, the

maximum fine that may be imposed is $2,500 and not as provided in subsection

(1).

Same

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply unless the court is satisfied

that the person who is convicted was, at the time of the offence, the duly

elected, appointed or selected, as the case may be, head or chair of the

designated public body.

Minutes

(1) Minutes of meetings of a

designated public body shall,

(

a) be clear, concise and neutral;

(

b) contain sufficient detail to adequately inform the public of the main

subject-matters considered by the designated public body and the decisions

made by the designated public body; and

(

c) be made available to the public at the same time they are made

available to the members of the designated public body, whether the minutes

have been adopted or not.

Exception

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to minutes regarding meetings

or parts of meetings from which the public was excluded in accordance with

subsection 3 (2).

Recording decisions made in absence of the public

(3) Despite subsection (2), in respect of the minutes regarding

meetings or parts of meetings from which the public was excluded in

accordance with subsection 3 (2), the minutes shall,

(

a) clearly record decisions that are made at the meeting or part of the

meeting from which the public was excluded;

(

b) contain sufficient detail to adequately inform the public of the

nature of the decision and the matter upon which the decision was made;

and

(

c) be made available to the public at the next public meeting after the

meeting or the part of the meeting from which the public was excluded.

Rules

(1) By the end of its third

meeting after this Act comes into force, each designated public body, having

regard to the purpose set out in

section 2, shall make rules respecting,

(

a) how public notice of its meetings and the meetings of its committees

shall be given;

(

b) how the minutes of its meetings and the meetings of its committees

shall be made available to the public; and

(

c) how rules made under this subsection and amendments made under

subsection (2) shall be made available to the public.

Amendment or revision of rules

(2) A designated public body may amend the rules made under

subsection (1) at any time.

Compliance with rules

7. By the end of its third meeting after this

Act comes into force, a designated public body shall appoint a member of the

body to be the person responsible for overseeing compliance by the body and

by committees of the body with

section 5 and with the rules made under

section 6.

Offence - minutes and rules

(1) A person appointed for a

designated public body under

section 7 or under subsection 10 (3) who fails

to be reasonably diligent in overseeing compliance with

section 5 and the

rules made under

section 6 is guilty of an offence and on conviction is

liable to a fine of not more than $1,000.

Offence - head or chair

(2) If the person who is convicted of an offence under

subsection (1) is the head or chair of the designated public body, the

maximum fine that may be imposed is $2,500 and not as provided in subsection

(1).

Same

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply unless the court is satisfied

that the person who is convicted was, at the time of the offence, the duly

elected, appointed or selected, as the case may be, head or chair of the

public body.

Complaint re: failure to make rules

(1) Any person who believes that

a designated public body has failed to make its rules in accordance with

section 6 may complain in writing to the Information and Privacy

Commissioner.

Request for copy of rules

(2) Upon receiving a complaint under subsection (1), the

Information and Privacy Commissioner shall investigate the complaint and may

request that the designated public body provide a copy of its rules to the

Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Failure to comply with request

(3) If the designated public body does not comply with the

Information and Privacy Commissioner's request within 30 days or such longer

time as the Information and Privacy Commissioner considers reasonable in the

circumstances, the Information and Privacy Commissioner may make the rules

for the body and for all purposes, including the purposes of

section 8, those

rules have the same effect as if they were made by the body under

section

Amendment or substitution of rules

(4) If the designated public body provides a copy of the rules

to the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Information and Privacy

Commissioner is satisfied that the rules made by the body under

section 6

reflect a lack of reasonable regard for the purpose set out in

section 2, he

or she may amend the rules or substitute new rules and for all purposes,

including the purposes of

section 8, the amended or substituted rules have

the same effect as if they were made by the body under

section 6.

Failure to appoint person responsible

(1) Any person who believes

that a designated public body has failed to comply with

section 7 may

complain in writing to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Request for appointment

(2) Upon receiving a complaint made under subsection (1), the

Information and Privacy Commissioner shall investigate the complaint and may

request that the designated public body make the appointment required under

section 7 and provide minutes of the appointment to the Information and

Privacy Commissioner.

Failure to comply with request

(3) If the designated public body does not comply with the

Information and Privacy Commissioner's request within 30 days or such longer

time as the Information and Privacy Commissioner considers reasonable in the

circumstances, the Information and Privacy Commissioner may appoint a member

of the body to be the person responsible for overseeing compliance by the

body and by committees of the body with

section 5 and the rules made under

section 6.

Appointment by IPC

(4) The appointment made by the Information and Privacy

Commissioner under subsection (3) may be made by naming an individual or by

referring to an office or position on the designated public body or committee

of the designated public body, and for all purposes, including the purposes

section 8, the appointment has the same effect as if it were made by the

body under

section 7.

Appointment of investigators

11. The Information and Privacy Commissioner

may appoint investigators for the purposes of investigating complaints made

under this Act and of ensuring compliance with it.

Miscellaneous

Conflict

12. Subject to the regulations made under

clause 13 (c), in the event of a conflict between this Act and the

regulations made under it and in any other Act or regulations, this Act and

the regulations made under it prevail, except to the extent that the other

Act or regulations provide for greater openness of meetings or greater

Regulations

Regulations

13. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may

make regulations,

(

a) prescribing persons or entities or types of persons as designated

public bodies;

(

b) prescribing matters for the purposes of clause 3 (2) (g); and

(

c) providing for the resolution of a conflict between provisions in an

Act or regulation other than as provided for by

section 12.

Commencement

14. This Act comes into force on the day it receives

Royal Assent.

Short title

15. The

short title of this Act is the Transparency

in Public Matters Act, 2002 .

Schedule

PART I

1. The following are designated public bodies for the purposes

of this Act:

Item number

Name of designated public body

Legislative basis for

designated public body

Electrical Safety

Authority

Regulations made

under the Electricity Act, 1998

Board of directors of the Independent

Electricity Market Operator

Section 4 of the

Electricity Act, 1998

Board of directors of the Ontario Electric

Services Corporation

Regulations made under

section 48 of the Electricity Act,

Board of directors of the Ontario Electricity Generation

Corporation

Regulations made under

section 48 of the Electricity Act,

Ontario Energy Board

Section 4 of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998

Ontario Municipal Board

Section 4 of the Ontario Municipal Board Act

PART II

2. The following are types of designated public bodies for the

purposes of this Act:

Item number

Type of designated public body

A conservation authority established by or under the

Conservation Authorities Act or a

predecessor of that Act.

The Board of Directors of the Ontario

Development Corporation, the Northern

Ontario Development Corporation or the

Eastern Ontario Development Corporation, as continued under the

Development Corporations Act .

A district social services administration board established under

section 3 of the District Social Services Administration Boards

Act .

A district school board or school authority as defined in

section 1

of the Education Act .

A board of health as defined in

section 1 of the Health

Protection and Promotion Act .

A commission as established under

section 174 of the Municipal

Act, 2001 .

A council of a municipality.

The board of directors, governors, trustees,

commission or other governing body or

authority of a hospital to which the Public Hospitals Act

applies.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill requires specified provincial and municipal councils, boards,

commissions and other public bodies, as listed in the

Schedule to the Bill or

as prescribed, to hold meetings which are open to public. The public can only

be excluded from meetings of the body if certain specified types of matters

are going to be discussed by the body. Minutes of meetings open to the public

have to be made available to the public in a timely fashion, and must contain

sufficient detail.

The body is also required to set rules respecting public notice of its

meetings and the meetings of its committees, the availability of minutes to

the public and the availability of the body's rules. The body is required to

appoint a person responsible for compliance with the rules.

Section 8 imposes

a penalty for failure to comply with the requirements for notice, minutes and

rules.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

November 4, 2002

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

November

4, 2002

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent :

Coming into force :Royal Assent.

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