CALL TO ORDER - 9:44 a.m. 
 
Speaker Bussin took the Chair and called the Members to order.
 
The meeting opened with O Canada.

Speaker Bussin advised Council that this special meeting has been called for the following purposes:

1.         to consider the Executive Committee's report from its special meeting on November 24, 2009 on administration of the 2010 Municipal Election, including candidate financing and related matters;

2.         to introduce and enact General Bills; and

3.         to introduce and enact a confirming by-law for this special Council meeting.

City Council on December 2, 2009, adopted the following:

1.         City Council authorize the dates and times for the 2010 election advance votes as follows:

a.         If Bill 212 is not enacted by the Ontario Legislature:

i.          Weekdays from Wednesday, October 20, 2010 to Friday, October 22, 2010 inclusive and Monday, October 25, 2010 to Wednesday, October 27, 2010, inclusive from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.;

ii.         Saturday, October 30, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and

iii.        Sunday, October 31, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

b.         If Bill 212 is enacted by the Ontario Legislature:

i.          Weekdays from Tuesday, October 5, 2010 to Friday, October 8, 2010 inclusive and Tuesday, October 12, 2010 to Wednesday, October 13, 2010, inclusive from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.;

ii.         Saturday, October 16, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and

iii.        Sunday, October 17, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

c.         The City Solicitor be authorized to submit the appropriate bill once any amendments have been made to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 by Bill 212.

2.         City Council authorize elector information to be made available during regular municipal elections and by-elections in those languages which the most recent available Statistics Canada data shows was spoken and understood in the home by at least 2 percent of a ward’s population, substantially in the form of the draft bill attached as Appendix ‘C’ to the report (November 16, 2009) from the City Clerk, and further, the City Clerk be requested to provide information in the languages identified by the process described in Appendix C.

3.         City Council direct that voting places shall open at 10:00 a.m. on voting day.

4.         City Council direct that institutional voting places, as described in subsection 46(3) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, be open for the full voting day.

5.         City Council direct the City Clerk to request the Province of Ontario to amend the Municipal Elections Act to permit the City of Toronto to extend voting hours to ensure that voting places are open for a minimum of 10 hours and are fully operational during that time.

6.         If Bill 212 is enacted by the Ontario Legislature, City Council request the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to consider the following:

            a.         poll clerks require photo identification from a voter when there is reasonable doubt about the identity of the elector; and

            b.         where it is necessary to administer an Oath, photo identification be required.

7.         City Council request the City Clerk to ensure that the intended location of polling stations be made public at least six months prior to the election date and establish a process that would allow for revisions to be made in polling station locations that are shown to be problematic.

8.         City Council request the City Clerk and the City Manager to report to the Executive Committee for its meeting on February 1, 2010, on:

              a.       the feasibility and costs of providing transportation for electors with disabilities to the voting places if disabled accessibility cannot be achieved within a local voting area; and

              b.       the feasibility and potential costs for including in the Election householder, the translation of basic election information in languages that are spoken by a minimum of 2 percent of the population, by ward, according to the most recent Statistics Canada data.

9.         City Council authorize and direct the appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect thereto, including the introduction of any bills.

City Council on December 2, 2009, adopted the following:

Establishment of a Contribution Rebate Program

1.         City Council implement a contribution rebate program for the 2010 election and:

              a.       pass a by-law substantially in the form of the draft bill attached as Appendix ‘A’ to the report (November 16, 2010) from the City Clerk;

              b.       increase funding from the non-program account to the Elections Reserve Fund XR1017 by $0.2 million to $0.8 million per annum beginning in 2010 to pay for the program;

              c.       direct that any election campaign surplus funds at the end of the campaign period, paid to the Clerk under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 by a candidate for office on Toronto City Council, will become the property of the City of Toronto and be deposited into the Elections Reserve Fund XR1017 in accordance with section 14 of the draft bill attached as Appendix ‘A’ to this report.

Corporate and Trade Union Contributions

2.         City Council pass a by-law to prohibit all corporate and trade union contributions to candidates seeking office to Toronto City Council in all regular municipal elections and by-elections, substantially in the form of the draft bill attached as Appendix ‘B’ to this report.

Electronic filing of Candidate Financial Statements

3.         City Council pass a by-law to authorize the electronic filing of candidate financial statements in all regular municipal elections and by‑elections substantially in the form of the draft bill attached as Appendix ‘C’ to this report.

General

4.         City Council request the Province of Ontario to conduct an exhaustive study of Municipal Election Finance Models, and to include in that study actual study group meetings with election and/or campaign finance authorities in relevant jurisdictions where appreciable improvements in diversity candidate numbers have been achieved, and where appreciable reductions in allegations of non-compliance, whether real or imagined, have been achieved.

            The study group membership should include the following stakeholder groups:

-           representatives of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

-           representatives of small, medium and large Ontario Municipalities

-           representatives of municipal Clerks

-           representatives of the Ontario Elections Office

-           2 civic appointees.

5.         City Council request the City Clerk to report to the Executive Committee, after the 2010 Municipal Election, on the feasibility of implementing municipal funding for elections, the report to include:

a.         what amendments would be required to the Municipal Elections Act to allow a municipally funded election to take place;

b.         the cost of a municipally funded election; and

c.         what qualifications candidates should have to be eligible to register as a candidate in a municipally funded election.

6.         City Council authorize and direct the appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect thereto, including the introduction of the bills substantially in the form of Appendices ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’, to this report, adjusted as necessary if and when the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 is amended by Bill 212.

City Council on December 2, 2009, adopted the following:

1.         City Council establish a compliance audit committee composed of three members and delegate all of Council’s powers and functions under subsections 81(3), (4), (7), (10) and (11) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 in respect of compliance audit applications.

2.         City Council adopt the terms of reference for the compliance audit committee set out in Appendix “C” in the report (November 16, 2009) from the City Clerk and direct the Clerk to make any amendments necessary to reflect enactment of the provisions of Bill 212 set out in Appendix “C” in the report.

3.         City Council adopt the membership selection process set out in Appendix ‘D’ in the report.

4.         City Council establish a per diem of $350 for attendance at meetings by Members of the Compliance Audit Committee.

5.         City Council direct that if the Compliance Audit Committee finds that a complaint against a candidate is not valid, and City Council reimburses the candidate's compliance audit costs,  the City also reimburse the candidate's court costs to sue the complainant to recover legal costs, on condition that the candidate return the original reimbursement for their compliance audit costs to the City.

6.         City Council establish an ad hoc Committee, composed of the Chair of the Government Management Committee and two other Members of Council, to review matters related to legal expenses resulting from a compliance audit.

7.         City Council request the Province of Ontario to either:

a.         amend the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 to permit a candidate to re-open his or her election campaign for a period of six months following the filing of a compliance audit application for the purpose of fund-raising to pay any costs associated with the compliance audit; or

b.          amend the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to provide absolute certainty that Council can establish a policy to reimburse candidates and compliance audit applicants for the reasonable costs associated with a compliance audit proceeding on a case-by-case basis and to enable Council to make grants for this purpose.

8.         If the Province of Ontario fails to make the necessary legislative amendments, City Council establish a policy to:

a.          accept and review requests for reimbursement of legal expenses associated with compliance audit proceedings;

b.          provide that the requests be reviewed by Council to determine if exceptional circumstances exist to warrant the reimbursement of the legal expenses; and

c.          provide that reimbursements will be made to candidates only at the conclusion of the compliance audit proceedings and only if the candidate was vindicated.

9.          City Council endorse the action taken by the Executive Committee, as the Provincial Standing Committee considering Bill 212 met prior to the City Council meeting, in having requested the City Clerk to:

a.         Forward Recommendation 5 of the Executive Committee to the Chair of the Provincial Standing Committee considering Bill 212 and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; and urgently request that the deficiencies identified by Mayor Miller in his motion to the Committee be corrected forthwith. 

b.          Convey to the Province of Ontario the City's significant concern respecting the proposed Section 81(17) and Section 94(2) of the Municipal Elections Act, which leads to double jeopardy; and communicate this to the relevant Standing Committee, and request that Section 81(17)  of the Municipal Elections Act be struck out and the current law continue to apply.

10.       City Council request the City Clerk to research whether insurance companies offer candidate insurance to cover compliance audit costs, and report to the Executive Committee.

11.       City Council request the City Clerk, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to report to the Executive Committee for its meeting on February 1, 2010, on the following proposal:

            That:

            a.         the City establish the position of Independent Counsel to provide advice and legal support to Members of Council on matters related to compliance audits; and

            b.         funds for this purpose be drawn from Election Reserve Fund XR1017.

            The report to also include recommendations to the Executive Committee on the amounts required for this purpose.

12.       City Council authorize and direct the appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

City Council on December 2, 2009, adopted the following:

1.         City Council adopt a Community Engagement Program that improves the voters' list, engages eligible electors and that places a special focus on tenants, as specifically set out in the report (November 16, 2009) from the City Clerk.

2.         City Council direct that the Community Engagement Program focus on the following:

a.         Increasing the accuracy and currency of the voters’ list, particularly as it affects tenants.

b.         Communicating the legislative changes introduced in Bill 212 (Good Government Act, 2009).

c.         Engaging individuals and communities in the electoral process by broadening their understanding and commitment to participation in local democracy, improving accessibility, and offering opportunities to get involved.

3.         City Council request the City Clerk to develop a door-to-door canvassing strategy, in accordance with the City's rights to develop a database under Section 22 of Bill 212, and report further to the Executive Committee at its February 1, 2010 meeting, including budget implications.  The canvassing strategy should include arranging for supplementary canvassing, education and outreach in those rental apartment buildings where candidates have brought to the City Clerk's attention, instances where MPAC has failed to deliver an accurate voters' list.

4.         City Council request the City Manager to file complaints, on behalf of the City of Toronto, with both the Ontario Ombudsman's Office and the Ontario Human Rights Commission regarding the failure of MPAC to ensure that tenants are properly enumerated for municipal elections and are thereby denied their democratic right to vote.

5.         City Council request the City Manager to request the Ombudsman of Ontario to assess the overall accuracy of the voters list provided to the City of Toronto by MPAC.

6.         City Council request the City Clerk and other appropriate officials to contact Education institutions within the City of Toronto, including universities, community colleges, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the Toronto Catholic School Board (TCSB) and the Conference of Independent Schools (Toronto Schools), with the objective of their becoming more actively  involved in the involvement and engagement of students in the 2010 Municipal Election, with a request that she submit a detailed implementation plan to the Executive Committee meeting on February 1, 2010, such report to include any financial requirements.

7.         City Council request the City Clerk to submit a report to the February 1, 2010 meeting of the Executive Committee, on what additional sources of information will be used to improve the accuracy of the voters list, as provided for under new Section 22 of Bill 212.

8.         City Council request the Board of Directors of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation to ensure that all their tenants are enumerated.

9.         City Council request the City Clerk to ensure that Toronto Community Housing Corporation buildings are assigned to the appropriate polling station based on their correct address, and that the Board of Directors of TCHC be advised of this request.

City Council on December 2, 2009, adopted the following:

1.         If Bill 212 is enacted by the Ontario Legislature:

a.         City Council choose Option 2 contained in the report (December 1, 2009) from the City Clerk, as amended, which provides for an adjusted meeting schedule (August to December) that avoids the FCM Board of Directors meeting in August.

             b.         The City Clerk distribute the adjusted schedule to the City’s agencies and special purpose bodies with a request that they:

                         i.         avoid scheduling meetings, whenever possible, that conflict with the amended schedule; and

                         ii.         avoid scheduling public meetings, forums, public consultations and large scale meetings on days of cultural or religious significance as noted in the amended schedule.