If you have a complaint about a member of Council or a local board, you can complain to the Integrity Commissioner. The Integrity Commissioner can investigate whether that person has violated the Code of Conduct that applies to them, or the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA), under the authority of the City of Toronto Act, 2006.
To make an informal complaint or request an investigation under a Code of Conduct, or to apply for an investigation under the MCIA, you must follow the Complaint and Application Procedures that are found here.
These procedures have been put in place by Integrity Commissioner under the authority of the Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 3, section 3-4.4.
Before requesting the Integrity Commissioner to become involved in a matter, you may wish to review the information below. If you have any questions or require accommodation, please contact us at integrity@toronto.ca or 416-392-3826.
What can the Integrity Commissioner investigate?
City Council has adopted a Code of Conduct that governs the conduct of the Mayor and Councillors and separate Codes of Conduct for members of local boards and members of adjudicative boards. The Codes of Conduct set out rules that they must follow in carrying out their official duties. The Integrity Commissioner can investigate a complaint about someone not following those rules.
The Integrity Commissioner can also investigate if someone has not complied with the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act is a provincial law that prohibits the Mayor, a Councillor, a Member of a local board, or a Member of an adjudicative board from being involved with matters where they have a direct or indirect pecuniary interest.
When the Integrity Commissioner investigates a matter, it is formally called an “inquiry.” The same matter can be investigated under a Code of Conduct and the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act at the same time.
Who can make a complaint under a Code of Conduct?
Anyone can submit a complaint that the Mayor, a Councillor, a Member of a local board, or a Member of an adjudicative board has broken a rule in the Code of Conduct that applies. Complaints cannot be filed by anyone during the period between nomination day and voting day in the regular election period for City Council that occurs every four years.
There are two types of complaint someone can make. They can choose to submit either an Informal Complaint or a Formal Complaint. Formal Complaints may be investigated and if that person is found to have broken a rule in a Code of Conduct, it will be reported and they may be subject to one of the penalties described below. If someone makes an Informal Complaint, the Integrity Commissioner will attempt to resolve the complaint through informal discussions with the member and the person making a complaint.
What happens when the Integrity Commissioner receives a Code of Conduct complaint?
All complaints are assessed by the Integrity Commissioner using the process set out in the Complaint and Application Procedures.
What are the penalties for breaking a rule in the Code of Conduct?
If the Integrity Commissioner investigates and finds someone has broken a rule in a Code of Conduct, that finding is reported by the Integrity Commissioner and that report may include a recommendation that the person be reprimanded and/or have their pay suspended for up to 90 days. The Integrity Commissioner reports the finding and recommendations to the body of which that person is a member, which may be Council, a local board or an adjudicative board. The body of which that person is a member votes on what penalty, if any, to impose. It can also decide to adopt other remedial measures.
Someone must be an elector in the City of Toronto or a person “demonstrably acting in the public interest” to request the Integrity Commissioner to investigate that the Mayor, a Councillor, a Member of a local board, or a Member of an adjudicative board in Toronto has contravened section 5, 5.1 or 5.2 of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
The application must be submitted within six weeks of the person making the application becoming aware of the alleged contravention. The exception to that rule is if the person only became aware of the alleged contravention less than six weeks before nomination in a regular election period for City Council that occurs every four years. In that case, the application must be submitted within six weeks after voting day in that election.
The application includes a statutory declaration, which requires the person making the application to declare before a notary public or commissioner of oaths that they became aware of the alleged contravention within the timelines described above.
What happens when the Integrity Commissioner receives an application for a Municipal Conflict of Interest Act inquiry?
All applications are assessed by the Integrity Commissioner using the process set out in the Complaint and Application Procedures.
What are the penalties for breaking a rule in the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act?
If the Integrity Commissioner investigates and considers it appropriate, the Integrity Commissioner may apply to a judge of the Superior Court of Justice for a determination whether the Mayor, a Councillor, a Member of a local board, or a Member of an adjudicative board in Toronto has contravened section 5, 5.1 or 5.2 of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
Following the hearing of the application made by the Integrity Commissioner, if a judge determines that person has contravened any of these provisions, the judge may order the person be reprimanded, suspend their pay for up to 90 days, declare the person’s position vacant, disqualify the person from holding that position for up to seven years, and require the person to pay restitution.
How to make an Informal Complaint under a Code of Conduct:
Office of the Integrity Commissioner
375 University Ave., Suite 202
Toronto, ON M5G 2J5
For information about how your Informal Complaint will be considered, please review our Office’s Complaint and Application Procedures. If you need accommodation or have questions, please contact us at integrity@toronto.ca or 416-392-3826.
How to make a Formal Complaint under a Code of Conduct:
Office of the Integrity Commissioner
375 University Ave., Suite 202
Toronto, ON M5G 2J5
For information about how your Formal Complaint will be considered, please review our Office’s Complaint and Application Procedures. If you need accommodation or have questions, please contact us at integrity@toronto.ca or 416-392-3826.
How to make an MCIA Application:
Office of the Integrity Commissioner
375 University Ave., Suite 202
Toronto, ON M5G 2J5
For information about how your MCIA Application will be considered, please review our Office’s Complaint and Application Procedures. If you need accommodation or have questions, please contact us at integrity@toronto.ca or 416-392-3826.