Proxy Voting for Members of Council

On July 21st, 2020, the Ontario government made amendments to the Municipal Act, 2001 which allows municipalities the option of authorizing proxy voting for Members of Council. With Bill 197: The COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020, municipalities that wish to allow proxy voting must amend their procedure bylaw to allow members of council to appoint another member of the same council to act in their place when they are absent.

The Province has positioned proxy voting as a way to “ensure continuing representation of constituents’ interests on municipal councils when a member is unable to attend in person due to, for example, illness, a leave of absence, or the need to practice physical distancing.”

While this allows a member of council to continue to represent the interests of their constituents should they be waylaid by illness, such as contracting COVID-19, it could also be applied to a leave of absence, such as parental leave, a policy for which is now mandatory under s.270 of the Municipal Act (MA) as a result of amendments made through Bill 68: The Modernizing Ontario’s Municipal Legislation Act, 2017.

While there are a number of international legislative bodies at a provincial, state or federal level that have utilized proxy voting to conduct business, an initial scan of jurisdictions at the local level suggest that such a mechanism is unique in its application to members of a municipal council.

Updated as of January 28, 2021.

Resources

Procedural

AMCTO Proxy Voting Guide

Guidance

Information sheet Proxy Voting for Municipal Council Members

Previously Recorded Webinar

FAQ from Webinar

If a proxy holder does not vote the way they are instructed to by the assigning member, what are the remedies?

This is where there is some overlap between the need to update certain policies such as the Council Code of Conduct and perhaps getting some advice from the Integrity Commissioner as this could fall under their realm of interest.

Does council approve the use of proxy voting or does the clerk?

According to the legislation, the council must approve any changes to the procedural bylaw while the clerk shall establish a process. This process language is a departure from the traditional language of policies and procedures used in other sections of the Act.

There has been some question about the use of proxy voting and e-meetings while on business travel. Should that be allowed?

Business travel suggests that the member has received direction from council that such business travel has been approved, though the process for this may differ from municipality to municipality. This would suggest that business travel could be a valid reason for use of proxy voting.

What considerations might be put in place for scoping the use of proxy voting?

There are some considerations about the types of decisions being sought, whether this measure should only be used at council rather than at committee where a matter might be considered in further detail, in order to limit any perception of disqualifying bias. Another area might be to look at Section 23.3 of The Municipal Act on powers that cannot be delegated.

REFER TO PROXY VOTING GUIDE FOR UPDATED INFORMATION