10-01-2024 - No.14The City of Niagara Falls, Ontario
Resolution
Resolution No. 14
Minister Paul Calandra
Municipal Affairs and Housing
777 Bay Street
College Park, 17th Floor,
Toronto, ON M7A 2J3
Sent via email: minister.mah(@ontario.ca
Dear Minister Calandra:
Re: AMCTO's Provincial Updates to the Municipal Elections Act
I am writing to you as the Municipal Clerk at the City of Niagara Falls and as the municipal officer
responsible for the administration of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 in support of AMCTO's
recommendations calling for the comprehensive changes to MEA.
AMCTO members, as municipal leaders, support the interests and well-being of 235,000
municipal employees across all municipalities in this Province.
Local election administrators care about running fair and accessible elections. We care about
ensuring that candidates, voters, and third -party advertisers understand their responsibilities. We
care that those that may knowingly break the rules are held to account. We care that the MEA
and the accompanying Education Act and Assessment Act are complicated pieces of legislation
on their own, and more so read together.
That is why AMCTO reviews the Act after every local election and why the Province should be
making the necessary changes to make election administration easier and the Act clearer to follow
for candidates and voters within the timelines AMCTO has set out.
Never has there been a more important moment to ensure the Act is working well, closes gaps
and provides the right enforcement tools and mechanisms to safeguard our local electoral
processes from threats of foreign interference, misinformation and bad actors. Local clerks need
support and guidance on how to manage these threats and deal with potential events especially
considering the federal government's recent legislation on foreign interference (Bill C-70).
AMCTO convened a group of municipal staff with experience and expertise in administering local
elections to present you with several recommendations for making improvements to MEA and
calling for an overhaul of the Act in the long-term.
I support AMCTO's recommendations and call on you to update the MEA with priority and
secondary recommendations by mid 2025 ahead of the 2026 election so that I can make the
necessary adjustments for planning and implementation well ahead of statutory timelines imposed
upon me to administer an election.
There is a provincial interest in ensuring the health of local democracy and the time to act is now
— proactively instead of reactively. Election administrators face several uncertainties as we look
ahead to 2026. We observe that in other jurisdictions with elections, there is an increasing use of
artificial intelligence (Al) and other technology to spread misinformation. There are increased
levels of electoral interference. Even in Canada, we are seeing reports of more candidates and
elected officials stepping back from public life because of concerns for their safety and
reputations.
There also is a provincial interest for reducing administrative and operational burdens to help free
up staff time to focus on other critical statutory and operational tasks such as those related to
planning and development processes, municipal governance, as well as service innovation, in
support of provincial priorities.
I look forward to seeing legislation introduced to update the MEA in the coming months to address
current challenges, streamline processes, and make legislation easier to understand and
administer.
Sincerely,
Bill Matson
City Clerk
cc:
Paul Shipway, President, AMCTO president(o)amcto.com
Martha Greenberg, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
martha.green berg @ontario.ca
Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education minister.edu(o),ontario.ca
Todd McCarthy, Minister of Public & Business Service Delivery & Procurement todd.mccarthy(c)-ontario.ca
Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance Minister.fin(a),ontario.ca
Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario premier(a)ontario.ca
Wayne Gates, MPP wgates-co(a)ncp.on.ca
This is to advise that at the October 1, 2024 Council Meeting in the City of Niagara Falls,
the following resolution was adopted with respect to the above noted matter:
No. 14 October 1, 2024
Moved by: Councillor Victor Pietrangelo
Seconded by: Councillor Ruth -Ann Nieuwesteeg
WHEREAS election rules need to be clear, supporting candidates and voters in their
electoral participation and election administrators in running elections.
WHEREAS legislation needs to strike the right balance between providing clear rules and
frameworks to ensure the integrity of the electoral process,
WHEREAS the legislation must also reduce administrative and operational burden for
municipal staff ensuring that local election administrators can run elections in a way that
responds to the unique circumstances of their local communities.
WHEREAS the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA) will be 30 years old by the next
municipal and school board elections in 2026.
WHEREAS the MEA sets out the rules for local elections, the Assessment Act, 1990 and
the Education Act, 1990 also contain provisions impacting local elections adding more
places for voters, candidates, and administrators to look for the rules that bind the local
democratic process in Ontario.
WHEREAS with rules across three pieces of legislation, and the MEA containing a
patchwork of clauses, there are interpretation challenges, inconsistencies, and gaps to
fill.
WHEREAS the Act can pose difficulties for voters, candidates, contributors and third party
advertisers to read, to interpret, to comply with and for election administrators to enforce.
WHEREAS while local elections are run as efficiently and effectively as can be within the
current legislative framework, modernization and continuous improvement is needed to
ensure the Act is responsive to today's needs and tomorrow's challenges.
WHEREAS to keep public trust and improve safeguards the Act should be reviewed
considering the ever -changing landscape which impacts elections administration
including privacy, the threats of foreign interference, increased spread of
mis/disinformation and the increased use of technologies like artificial intelligence and
use of digital identities.
WHEREAS the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks, and Treasurers of Ontario
(AMCTO) reviewed the Act and has provided several recommendations including
modernizing the legislation, harmonizing rules, and streamlining and simplifying
administration.
AND WHEREAS AMCTO put forward recommendations for amendments ahead of the
2026 elections and longer —term recommendations for amendments ahead of the 2030
elections.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City of Niagara Falls calls for the Province to
update the MEA with priority amendments as outlined by AMCTO before Summer 2025
and commence work to review and re -write the MEA with longer —term recommendations
ahead of the 2030 elections.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution will be forwarded to all
municipalities in Ontario for support and that each endorsement be then forwarded to the
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (minister.mah@ontario.ca), the Minister of
Education (minister.edu@ontario.ca), the Minister of Public and Business Service
Delivery (todd.mccarthy@ontario.ca), Minister of Finance (Minister.fin@ontario.ca) the
Premier of Ontario (premier@ontario.ca ), City of Niagara Falls MPP (wgates-
co@ndp.on.ca) and AMCTO (advocacy@amcto.com).
AND The Seal of the Corporation be hereto affixed. Carried Unanimously
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WILLIAM G. MATSON, CITY CLERK JAMES M. DIODATI, MAYOR
If any further information is required, please contact the undersigned at 905-356-7521,
x4342.
Yours Truly,
Bill Matson
City Clerk, City of Niagara Falls