May 2020
2020-05-11 9:02:30 AM
Background
Following a letter to Heads of Councils from the Solicitor General and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on March 27, 2020, the following personnel can be designated as provincial offences officers for enforcing orders under the EMCPA:
- All persons or classes of persons designated in writing by a minister of the Crown as provincial offences officers, notwithstanding the offence or class of offences of that designation;
- All municipal law enforcement officers referred to in subsection 101 (4) of the Municipal Act, 2001 or in subsection 79 (1) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006;
- All by-law enforcement officers of any municipality or of any local board of any municipality; and
- All officers, employees or agents of any municipality or of any local board of any municipality whose responsibilities include the enforcement of a by-law, an Act or a regulation under an Act.
Municipalities are able to provide direction to municipal law enforcement officers about the exercise of these powers. Yet, the decision to enforce this order remains discretionary.
Ministry of Solicitor General Seeks Reporting of Data
Municipalities that have decided to enforce orders under the EMCPA are being asked to submit data along with police services and others who have provincial offences officers enforcing the EMCPA orders. The Province notes that this coordinated data will inform the government’s response to COVID-19.
The data sought by the province includes:
- Actions Record Data
- Aggregated Data
The Ministry is requesting that reporting begin by providing the first submission on Thursday, May 14 2020 with subsequent submissions each following Tuesday.
For more detailed information:
AMCTO is not generally supportive of additional municipal reporting requirements. However, this request provides the government with timely information to guide decision-making during the COVID-19 period and meets the basic standard for being meaningful and relevant.