HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law 997/79THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF PICKERING
BY-LAW NUMBER 997/79
Being a By-law to provide for the rules
of order of the Council and its Committees.
WHEREAS pursuant to Section 242 of The Municipal Act,
Chapter 284, R.S.O., 1970, By-laws may be passed for
governing the proceedings of the Council, the conduct of its
members and the calling of meetings;
NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF
PICKERING HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
INTERPRETATION:
1. In this by-law:
(a) "Chairman" means the person presiding at the
meeting of Council;
(b) "Clerk" means the Town Clerk;
(c) "Committee" means a Standing Committee of
Council, but does not include the Committee of
the Whole;
(d) "Committee Chairman" means the person presiding
at the meetings of any of the standing committees
of Council, including the Committee of the Whole;
(e) "Committee of the Whole" means all the members
present at a meeting sitting in committee;
(f) "Council" means the Council of the Corporation of
the Town of Pickering;
(g) "meeting" means a meeting of Council;
(h) "member" means a member of Council;
(i) "recorded vote" means the recording of the name
and vote of every member present when the vote is
called on any matter or question.
GENERAL
2. In all the proceedings at or taken in this council the
following rules and regulations shall be observed and
shall be the rules and regulations for the order and
dispatch of business in the Council, and in the
Committee thereof.
3. Except as herein provided, the rules of order of the
Legislature of Ontario shall be followed for governing
the proceedings of Council and the conduct of its
members.
4. Any person who has an interest in an item being
considered by a Committee and who is not satisfied with
or not in favour of the recommendation of the Commit-
tee, may make application to the Clerk to be placed on
the agenda to appear before the Council at the meeting
at which it will be dealing with the recommendation of
the Committee, providing a written brief is submitted
to the Town Clerk not later than 12:00 noon on the
Thursday preceding the Council meeting.
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CONVENING MEETINGS:
5. Subject to the provisions of The Municipal Act, the
hour, date and place of the inaugural meeting of the
Council in every year shall be fixed by the Council at
its last meeting in the next preceding year.
6. After its inaugural meeting the Council shall meet on
the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:30 p.m.
in the afternoon and on such other days and at such
times as may from time to time be fixed by Council,
unless such day shall be legal, public or civic holiday
in which case the Council shall meet at the same hour
the next following day which is not legal, public or
civic holiday and at the same place, or unless post-
ponement is made in the manner hereinafter provided.
7. (a) Any ordinary meeting of the Council may be
postponed to a day named in:
(i) A notice by the Head or Acting Head of
Council given through the Clerk's Office
and two clear days in advance of the
ordinary meeting, or
(ii) A resolution of Council passed by a major-
ity of the whole number of the members
(iii) Or in extreme emergency, to cancel on poll
by telephone.
(b) The postponed meeting shall be held at the time
and place provided for the ordinary meeting so
laid over.
8. Subject to the provisions of The Municipal Act, the
Council may be summoned to a special meeting on one
clear day's notice specifying the purpose of such
meeting which shall be the sole business transacted
thereat. In the event of an emergency decision being
required, all members of Council shall be polled by
telephone or other means.
9. (a) The Clerk shall give notice of each regular and
special meeting of Council and of each Committee
to the members thereof and to the heads of all
civic departments.
(b) The notice shall be accompanied by the agenda and
any other matter, so far as known, to be brought
before such meeting.
(c) The notice shall be delivered or sent by mail to
the residence or place of business of each member
so as to be received not later than the day
previous to the day of the meeting.
(d) Lack of receipt of the notice shall not affect
the validity of holding the meeting or any action
taken thereat.
PREPARATION OF THE AGENDA
10. The Clerk shall have prepared for the use of the
members at the regular meetings the agenda as follows:
(a) confirmation of minutes
(b) delegations
(c) reports of standing committees
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(d) consideration of by-laws
(e) motions of which notice had previously been given
(f) motions
(g) confirmation by-law
(h) statements of members (non-debatable)
(i) adjournment
11. For special meetings, the agenda shall be prepared when
and as the Mayor or Town Manager may direct or, in
default of such direction, as provided in the last
preceding section so far as applicable.
12. The business of each meeting shall be taken up in the
order in which it stands upon the agenda, unless
otherwise decided by Council.
13. All motions called in pursuance of the agenda and not
disposed of, shall be placed on the agenda for the next
regular meeting unless otherwise decided by Council.
COMMENCEMENT OF MEETINGS:
14. As soon after the hour fixed for the meeting as a
quorum is present, the meeting shall be called to
order.
15. If there be no quorum present within thirty minutes
after the time appointed for the meeting, the Council
shall stand adjourned until the next day of meeting,
and the Clerk shall record the names of the members
present.
16. (a) In the absence of the Mayor the Acting Mayor
shall take the chair and in the absence of both,
the members of Council shall appoint a member to
take the chair.
(b) In the event the Mayor, or Acting Mayor do not
attend within fifteen minutes after the time
appointed, the Clerk shall call the members to
order and if a quorum be present, a Chairman
shall be chosen who shall preside during the
meeting, or until the arrival of the Mayor or
Acting Mayor.
17. An Acting Mayor shall be designated by by-law and the
said by-law shall be deemed to be in force for the t erm
of the Council which passed the said by-law.
RULES OF DEBATE AND CONDUCT OF MEMBERS IN COUNCIL
18. The chairman shall preside over the conduct of the
meeting, including the preservation of good order and
decorum, ruling on points of order and deciding all
questions relating to the orderly procedure of the
meetings; subject to an appeal by any member of the
Council from any ruling of the Chairman.
19. If the Chairman desires to leave the chair for the
purpose of taking part in the debat e or otherwise, he
shall call on another member to fill his place until he
resumes the chair.
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20. When two or more members wish to speak, the Chairman
shall name the member who in his opinion, should speak
first.
21. (a) No member shall speak more than once on the
question without leave of the Council, except in
explanation of a material part of his speech
which may have been misconceived and in doing so
he is not to introduce new matters.
(b) No member, without leave of Council, shall speak
to the same question, or in reply, for longer
than fifteen minutes.
22. A member may ask a question only of the previous
speaker and such question must be stated concisely and
relate to the speaker's remarks.
23. Any member may require the question or motion under
discussion to be read at any time during the debate,
but not so as to interrupt a member while speaking.
24. A member shall not:
(a) speak disrespectfully of the Reigning Sovereign,
any member of the Royal Family, the Governor-Gen-
eral, the Lieutenant-Governor, the Head of the
Government of Canada and of the Province of
Ontario.
(b) use offensive words or unparliamentary words or
expressions in Council;
(c) disobey the rules of the Council or decision of
the Chairman or of the Council on questions of
order or practice or upon the interpretation of
the rules of the Council;
(d) leave his seat or make any noise or disturbance
while a vote is being taken and until the result
is declared;
(e) interrupt a member while speaking except to raise
a point or order, or
(f) pass between a member who is speaking and the
Chair.
25. (a) In the event that any member persists in a breach
of the foregoing section after having been called
to order by the Chairman, the Chairman shall
without debate put the question, - "Shall the
Member be ordered to leave his seat for the
duration of the meeting?".
(b) If Council vote in the affirmative, the Chairman
shall order the member to leave his seat for the
duration of the meeting.
(c) If the member apologizes, the Chairman, with the
approval of Council, may permit him to resume his
seat.
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QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE AND POINTS OF ORDER:
26. When a member desires to address the Council upon a
matter that concerns the rights or privileges of the
Council collectively or of himself as a member thereof,
he shall be permitted to raise such matter of privilege
and a matter of privilege shall take precedence over
all other matters.
27. (a) When a member desires to call attention to a
violation of the rules of procedure, he shall ask
leave of the Chairman to raise a point of order
and, after leave is granted, he shall state the
point of order to the Chairman without unnecess-
ary comment, and the Chairman shall then decide
upon the point of order and advise the members of
his decision.
(b) Unless a member immediately appeals to the Counc-
il from the Chairman's decision, the decision of
the Chairman shall be final.
(c) If the decision is appealed to Council, it shall
decide the question without debate and this
decision shall be final.
28. When the Chairman calls a member to order, he shall not
speak until the point of order is dealt with and he
shall not speak again without the permission of the
Chairman unless to appeal the ruling of the Chairman.
MOTIONS AND ORDER OF PUTTING QUESTIONS:
29. A motion for introducing new matters shall not be
presented without notice unless the Council, without
debate, dispense with such notice by a two-thirds vote
of the members present.
30. Notices of motion, which must be signed by the mover
and have a seconder, shall be received by the Clerk at
any time the Council is in session and in his office up
to 12:00 noon of the Thursday preceding the Council
meeting, and they shall be printed in full in the
agenda of succeeding meetings until the motion is
considered.
31. Every motion shall be in writing except those dealing
with Council procedures and shall be moved and seconded
before being debated or put to a vote.
32. Every motion shall be deemed to be in possession of the
Council for debate after it is presented by the
Chairman, but may, with permission of the Council, be
withdrawn at any time before amendment or decision.
33. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be
received, except a motion:
(a) to refer the question to a Committee;
(b) to amend;
(c) to lay the question on the table;
(d) to postpone the debate;
(e) to adjourn the matter;
(f) to adjourn; or
(g) that the vote be now taken.
34. A motion to refer the question to a Committee shall
take precedence over any motion to amend the question.
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35. When a motion "that the vote be now taken" is present-
ed, and only after all members have spoken to the
motion pursuant to section 24 herein, it shall be put
to a vote without debate, and if carried, the motion
and any amendments thereto under discussion shall be
submitted to a vote forthwith without further debate.
36. A motion relating to a matter not within the jurisdict-
ion of the Council shall not be in order.
VOTING:
37. (a) Only one amendment can be presented to the main
motion at one time and only one amendment can be
presented to an amendment at one time, but when a
sub-amendment has been disposed of, another may
be introduced, and when an amendment has been
decided, another may be introduced.
(b) The sub-amendment, if any, shall be voted first,
then if no other sub-amendment is presented, the
amendment shall be voted on next, then if no
other amendments are introduced, the motion or
motion as amended, shall be put to a vote.
38. When the question under consideration contains distinct
propositions upon the request of any member, the vote
upon each proposition shall be taken separately.
39. After a question is put to a vote by the Chairman, no
member shall speak to the question, nor shall any other
motion be made.
40. Every member present at a meeting of the Council when a
question is put shall vote thereon unless prohibited by
statute, or unless the member indicates a conflict of
interest, or unless the Council shall by resolution
excuse him, and if any member present persists in
refusing to vote, he shall be deemed to be voting in
the negative.
41. Upon a request made before proceeding to another item
of business, by a member who was present when the
question was stated, a division on the question shall
be taken, and the decision of a vote determined in any
other manner, and whether declared or not, shall not be
binding upon the Council. The manner of determining the
decision of Council on a recorded vote shall be verbal
vote only and the Clerk shall record those voting in
the affirmative, those voting in the negative and those
who have abstained from voting.
42. After any question, except one of indefinite postpone-
ment has been decided, any member who voted thereon
(with the majority) may at the same meeting move for a
reconsideration, or at any other regular meeting there-
after during the same year any member may give notice
of a motion for a reconsideration, but no discussion of
the main question shall be allowed until the motion for
reconsideration is carried and no question shall be
reconsidered more than once, unless a request is made
in writing signed by a majority of the members of
Council.
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ADJOURNMENT:
43. A motion to adjourn the Council or adjourn the debate
will be in order, except:
(a) when a member is speaking or;
(b) when it has been decided that the vote be now
taken or;
(c) during the taking of the vote;
but no second motion to the same effect shall be made
until after some intermediate proceedings shall have
taken place.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE:
44. (a) Whenever it shall be moved and carried that the
Council resolve into Committee of the Whole, the
Chairman shall appoint a Chairman of the Committ-
ee of the Whole and then vacate the Chair.
(b) The Chairman of a Committee whose report is under
consideration shall not be required to take the
Chair.
45. No report of a Committee shall be referred to the
Committee of the Whole unless a copy of it has been
placed in the hands of the members, except by a
majority vote of those present.
46. The rules governing the procedure of the Council and
the conduct of its members shall be observed in the
Committee of the Whole so far as applicable, except
that:
(a) no motion shall require to be seconded;
(b) the number of times of speaking on any question
shall not be limited, provided no member shall
speak more than once until every member who
desires to do so shall have spoken; and
(c) a motion for adjournment shall not be allowed,
although a motion for a recess shall be permitt-
ed.
47. (a) The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole shall
report the proceedings to Council.
(b) No matter requiring a two-thirds vote or more
shall be reported without having received such a
vote.
(c) A motion to rise without reporting shall take
precedence of any other motion and debate shall
be allowed thereon.
(d) Where the Committee of the Whole votes to rise
without reporting the subject then being consid-
ered, the question shall be deemed to have been
disposed of in the negative, in which case the
Chairman of the Council shall resume the Chair
and proceed with the next order of business.
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48. A motion to rise and report progress shall always be in
order and be decided without debate except when a
member is speaking or during the taking of a vote, but
no second motion to the same effect shall be made until
after some intermediate proceeding has taken place.
49. The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole shall have
all the powers and duties of the Chairman of the
Council with the following exceptions:
(a) an appeal from the ruling of the Chairman of the
Committee of the Whole shall lie to the Chairman
of the Council; and
(b) where a member persists in any disobedience after
having been called to order by the Chairman of
the Committee of the Whole, or when a member
desires to appeal a decision of the Chairman of
the Council rendered in accordance with paragraph
(a) of this section, or if any disorder arises in
the Committee of the Whole, the Chairman of the
Committee of the Whole shall forthwith suspend
its proceedings and report the matter to Council.
ENQUIRIES:
50. All enquiries by members of Council as to facts
concerning any part of the administration should be in
writing and delivered to the Town Manager at least two
clear working days before the day of the meeting at
which such enquiry is to be made, and the answer, if
available, may be in writing and shall be distributed
to the Council by the Town Manager unless the Council
decided otherwise.
COMMUNICATIONS:
51. All written messages, memorials and enquiries over the
signature of the sender for the information of Council
on matters of fact or which contain a request for
action on the part of the Council in respect to matters
within the jurisdiction of the Council and the replies
thereto may be referred to a Committee or disposed
forthwith.
PROCEEDINGS ON BY-LAWS:
52. Every By-law shall, without amendment or debate, be
introduced by a member upon motion, and shall be
entitled and numbered and be referred to the Committee
of the Whole for consideration.
53. The By-law shall be considered in Committee of the
Whole and shall be open to amendment and debate.
54. Upon conclusion of the debate the Chairman of the
Committee of the Whole will report all amendments and
recommendations to the Council.
55. Council shall then consider the report of the Committee
of the Whole, which report is open to debate and
amendment and shall proceed to take whatever action is
deemed advisable.
56. The Clerk shall endorse on all By-laws read in Council
the date of the passing thereof and shall be respons-
ible for the correctness of such By-laws should they be
amended.
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57. Every By-law which has passed the Council shall be
sealed with the seal of the Corporation, signed by the
Mayor or by the Chairman of the meeting at which the
By-law was passed, and by the Clerk, and deposited with
the Clerk for custody.
STANDING COMMITTEES:
58. (a) A quorum of the Standing Committees shall consist
of four members.
(b) If there is no quorum present, the Committee may
proceed with its meeting if at least three
members are present and the fact is so noted in
the minutes and reported to Council.
58. The Chairman of the Standing Committees shall be
rotated every meeting on an alphabetical basis and the
Mayor shall be deemed a member of the Standing Committ-
ees without ever being deemed its Chairman.
60. The Chairman of the Standing Committee may be removed
by a vote of a majority of the members of the
Committee, but no motion to remove him shall be in
order unless notice of the motion shall have been given
in writing at a regular meeting of the Committee held
at least seven days prior to the meeting at which the
motion will be considered.
61. Special meetings of the Standing Committees may be
called by the Mayor whenever he may consider it
necessary to do so; and it shall be the duty of the
Mayor, or in the case of his illness or absence from
the Town it shall be the duty of the Town Manager, to
summon a special meeting of the Standing Committees
whenever requested in writing to do so by a majority of
the members composing it.
62. Except as herein provided, meetings or part of meetings
may be held in private on a vote of the members.
63. The rules governing the procedure of the Council shall
be observed in the Standing or Special Committees
insofar as applicable, except that:
(a) the Chairman shall call for a vote by a show of
hands on all matters before the Committee;
(b) the number of times of speaking on a question
shall not be limited;
(c) a member shall not be restricted to asking
questions only to the previous speaker, but the
question must relate directly to the matter under
discussion;
(d) the rules as to hearing deputations and as to
introducing new matters shall not apply.
64. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to
study and report to Council on:
(a) all matters within the jurisdiction of the Counc-
il or referred to them by the Mayor or by
Council, save and except for those duties con-
ferred upon the Planning Committee and to recom-
mend such action as it deems necessary;
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65. It shall be the duty of the Planning Committee to study
and report to Council on:
(a) all matters relating to land use and the enact-
ment of restricted area by-laws and official
plans;
(b) all matters relating to the re-development of
land under the Planning Act.
GENERAL:
66. (a) Unless otherwise specifically provided, where any
act is required to be done by the head of a
Department, it may be done by the deputy head or
other designated authorized official of the de-
partment.
(b) Where the Mayor is required to authorize the
payment of or to sign an account or document the
same may be done by the Acting Mayor.
67. In this by-law words importing the singular number or
the masculine gender only shall include more persons,
parties or things of the same kind than one and females
as well as males and the converse.
68. This By-law shall take effect from the date of its
passing.
69. By-law Number 3714 be and the same is hereby repealed.
By-law read a first, second and third time and PASSED this
day of , 1979.
Mayor
Clerk