Document 10
BY-LAW NO. 2003 - XX
A by-law of the City of Ottawa to govern the proceedings of its Advisory
Committees.
WHEREAS the Council for the City of Ottawa has, from time to time,
established Advisory Committees to provide special advice and expertise to it;
AND WHEREAS these Advisory Committees are comprised largely of citizens
from the City of Ottawa;
AND WHEREAS the unique composition of these Advisory Committees favours
the development and use of more flexible rules of procedure with respect to
their public meetings:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of The City of Ottawa,
pursuant to Section 238 of the Municipal
Act, 2001, as amended, ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
1.
RULES OF PROCEDURE ADOPTED/SUSPENDED
(1)
The proceedings of the Advisory Committees and the
conduct of their members and the calling of meetings shall be governed by the
provisions of the rules and regulations contained in this By-law, and, except
as provided herein, the rules of parliamentary procedure as contained in the
Rules of Procedure for City Council and its Standing Committees, shall be
followed for governing the proceedings of the Advisory Committees and the
conduct of its members;
(2)
Despite Subsection 1(1), the rules and regulations
contained in this By-law may be suspended by a vote of three-quarters of the
members present and voting.
2.
DEFINITIONS
In this By-law,
(1)
“Advisory Committee” means a committee created by Council
to provide advice and technical expertise on major public issues and social
trends, act as vehicles for public consultation on issues of municipal interest
and make recommendations to City Council through Standing Committees. The membership is comprised of citizens and
may have a Council Member acting as a liaison member;
(2)
“Advisory Committee Coordinator” means the person
whose duties include the recording of the proceedings of Advisory Committee
meetings;
(3)
“City”
means the City of Ottawa;
(4)
“Chair” means the chair of the Advisory Committee;
(5)
“City Manager” means the chief administrative
officer referred to in Section 229 of the Municipal
Act, 2001;
(6)
"Clerk" means the position appointed
pursuant to Section 228 of the Municipal
Act, 2001;
(7)
“Corporation”
means The Corporation of the City of Ottawa;
(8)
"Council" means the Council of the City
of Ottawa;
(9)
“Councillor” means a person elected or appointed
as a member of Council but does not include the Mayor;
(10) "Day"
does not include Saturday, Sunday or a holiday;
(11) “General Manager” means the official
responsible for a department within the Corporation;
(12) “Mayor” means the Mayor as the Head of
Council, or in the absence of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor or, in the absence of
both, another member of Council appointed in accordance with the provisions of
a by-law;
(13) "Notice
of Motion" means a written notice, including the name of the mover,
advising the Advisory Committee that the motion described therein will be
brought at a subsequent meeting;
(14) "Privilege"
means the raising of a question which concerns a member of an Advisory
Committee, or the Advisory Committee collectively, when a member believes that
their rights, immunities or integrity or the rights, immunities or integrity of
the Advisory Committee as a whole have been impugned;
(15) "Point
of Order" means a statement made by a member of an Advisory Committee
during a meeting thereof drawing to the attention of the Chair a breach of the
Rules of Procedure;
(16) “Presiding
Officer” means the Chair at a regular or special meeting of the Advisory
Committee or the member appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee
or, in the absence of either, another member of the Advisory Committee
appointed in accordance with the provisions of this By-law;
(17) "Procedural
Motion" means any motion concerning the manner or time of
consideration of any matter before the Advisory Committee as opposed to the
substance thereof, and includes, without limitation, the following:
(a)
to extend the time of the meeting;
(b)
to refer;
(c)
to lay on the table;
(d)
to defer indefinitely or to a certain day;
(e)
to adjourn; or
(f)
to suspend the Rules of Procedure;
(18) "Rules
of Procedure" means the rules and regulations provided in this By-law;
(19) "Standing
Committee" means a Committee of Council comprised solely by members of
Council who are appointed by Council;
(20)
“Vice-Chair” means the Vice-chair of an Advisory Committee
as appointed by the Advisory Committee;
PART I ADVISORY COMMITTEES
3.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBER - DUTIES
(1)
A member of an Advisory Committee shall have the
following duties:
(a)
to deliberate on the business submitted to the Advisory
Committee;
(b)
to vote when a motion is put to a vote; and
(c)
to respect the Rules of Procedure, including the Code of
Conduct and any guidelines for Advisory Committee members.
4.
AGENDA PREPARATION
(1)
The Agenda for a meeting of an Advisory Committee shall
be prepared under the direction of the Chair for that Committee.
(2)
Despite subsection (1), the City Manager, all General
Managers, or designates have the right to place items on the Agenda of any
Advisory Committee.
5.
COMMITTEE CHAIR
The Advisory Committee
Coordinator shall preside at the inaugural meeting of any Advisory Committee to
conduct the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee.
6.
DUTIES
OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIR
It shall be the duty of the
Committee Chair,
(1)
to open the meeting of the Advisory Committee by taking
the chair and calling the members to order;
(2)
to announce the business before the Advisory Committee
and the order in which it is to be acted upon;
(3)
to receive and submit, in the proper manner, all motions
presented by the members of the Advisory Committee;
(4)
to provide information to members of the Advisory
Committee on any matter touching on the business of the Committee;
(5)
to authenticate, by signature, all minutes of the
Advisory Committee;
(6)
to enforce the Rules of Procedure; and
(7)
to adjourn the meeting when the business is concluded.
7.
PARTICIPATION
OF CHAIR IN DEBATE
(1)
The Chair may state relevant facts and the Chair's
position on any matter before the Advisory Committee without leaving the chair,
but it shall not be permissible for the Chair to move a motion or debate a question
without first leaving the chair.
(2)
If the Chair is absent, or desires to leave the chair to
move a motion or to take part in the debate pursuant to Subsection (1), or
otherwise, the Chair shall call on the Vice-Chair to preside until the Chair
resumes the chair.
8.
QUORUM
(1)
An Advisory Committee shall not consider any business if
a quorum is not present.
(2)
Despite Subsection 8(1), an Advisory Committee may
receive and table submissions/information from the public, if a quorum is not
present, and these submissions/information may be considered at a subsequent
Committee meeting.
(3)
A quorum for an Advisory Committee having an even number
of members is one half of all the members thereof. A quorum for an Advisory Committee having an uneven number of
members is a simple majority of the number of members thereof.
9.
MEETINGS OF COMMITTEES
(1) (a) The regular
meetings of Advisory Committees shall be on the day of the month determined by
the Clerk, or his designate, subject to confirmation by the Advisory Committee,
with the time and place to be determined by the Advisory Committee.
(b) Individual regular
meetings of a Committee may be varied by the Chair from the day of the week,
time and place, subject to the required notice provisions.
(c) The Chair may cancel one
or more regular meetings of the Advisory Committee if in the Chair’s opinion
such meetings are not necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the
Committee.
(2)
No Advisory Committee shall meet while the Council is in
session.
(3)
Members may speak more than once on the same question.
(4)
Notwithstanding Subsection (3), no member, without leave
of the Committee, shall speak to the same question, at one time, or in reply,
for longer than five minutes.
(5)
A substantive motion made in Committee must be in writing
but need not be seconded.
(6)
Seven
calendar days’ notice of a meeting shall be given to the members of a Committee and an Agenda shall be provided to the
members five calendar days in advance of the meeting.
(7)
Advisory Committee members have the right to place items
on Committee agendas provided that such items are received by the Advisory
Committee Coordinator nine calendar days in advance of the
Committee meeting.
(8)
Subject to specific guidelines approved by City Council
regarding this clause, Members of Advisory Committees may be permitted to
participate in a meeting through electronic means and shall be deemed to be
present at the meeting for the purposes of establishing quorum.
10.
PLACE OF MEETING
All
meetings of the Advisory Committee shall be held at the Ottawa City Hall or at
such other place as is specified in the notice calling the meeting.
11.
MEETINGS OPEN TO PUBLIC
(1)
Subject to Section 12, the meetings of the Advisory
Committees shall be open to the public and no person shall be excluded therefrom
except for improper conduct.
(2)
The Chair may expel or exclude from any meeting any
person who has engaged in improper conduct at the meeting.
12.
CLOSED MEETINGS
(1)
An Advisory Committee may, by resolution, close a meeting
or part of a meeting to members of the public if the subject matter to be
considered is,
(a)
the security of the property of the City;
(b)
personal matters about an identifiable individual,
including staff;
(c)
a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land
for the purposes of the City;
(d)
labour relations or employee negotiations;
(e)
litigation or potential litigation, affecting the City,
including matters before administrative tribunals;
(f)
the receiving of advice that is subject to
solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that
purpose; or
(g)
a matter in respect of which the Advisory Committee is
authorized by statute to hold a closed meeting.
(2)
An Advisory Committee shall, by resolution, close a
meeting or part of a meeting to members of the public where the subject matter
to be considered is a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act.
(3)
A resolution to close a meeting or part of a meeting to
the public shall state,
(a)
the fact of the holding of the closed meeting;
(b)
the general nature of the matter to be considered at the
closed meeting.
(4)
Where a meeting or part of a meeting is closed to the
public, all persons not specifically invited to remain by the Advisory
Committee shall retire from the meeting room.
(5)
A vote shall not be taken during a meeting or part of a
meeting that is closed to the public where to do so would be in contravention
of any Act.
13.
GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR COMMITTEES
(1)
The Chair shall preside; in the absence of the Chair, the
Vice-Chair shall preside.
(2)
All members of the Advisory Committee may vote on any
question before the Committee, and, in the event of an equality of votes, the
question being voted upon shall be deemed to have been lost.
(3)
Advisory Committees shall consider and report on such
matters only as have been referred to them by the Council, their respective
Standing Committee or such matters as come within their continuing Terms of
Reference.
(4)
Advisory
Committees may receive representations from the public, however, no person,
without leave of the Committee, shall speak for longer than five minutes.
(5)
Subject to its Terms of Reference, each Advisory
Committee shall diligently pursue its duties and shall report, at least
annually, to its respective Standing Committee on matters and questions coming
before it within its Terms of Reference.
(6)
Should the Chair of any Advisory Committee neglect or
refuse to call meetings of the Committee at such times or with such frequency
as the proper dispatch of the Committee's business requires, or do the business
of the Committee without the knowledge or consent of its members, or contrary
to their wishes or actions, the Advisory Committee may report such neglect,
refusal or action to the Standing Committee which may remove such Chair from
office and the Advisory Committee may appoint another member as Chair.
(7)
Should any member of an Advisory Committee fail to attend
three successive meetings thereof, without being authorized to do so by a
resolution of the Committee, the Advisory Committee may certify such failure
and thereupon the membership of such person on the Committee is
terminated. Reception of a written
notice of regret by the Advisory Committee shall constitute authorization for
the purposes of this subsection.
14.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE COORDINATOR
(1)
The Coordinator of any Advisory Committee shall be
designated by and be responsible to the City Clerk.
(2)
It shall be the duty of the Coordinator:
(a)
to give notice of each meeting of the Advisory Committee
together with an Agenda of the matters to be considered;
(b)
to submit the reports to the Standing Committee and to
Council, as the case may be;
(c)
to record motions, resolutions,
votes, a concise summary of public delegations and action items (directions to
staff) through the preparation of meeting minutes in accordance with the Rules
of Procedure;
(d)
to provide procedural advice to
the Committee Chair;
(e)
to act as a link between the
Committee and City departments; and
(f)
to perform such other functions as may be required from
time to time.
PART II VOTING
15.
SECRET BALLOT PROHIBITED
No vote
shall be taken by ballot or by any other method of secret voting.
16.
RECORDED VOTE
(1)
Any member, before the question is decided, may require
that the vote be recorded.
(2)
Subject to Section 12, no vote shall be taken while the
members are at an in camera meeting.
(3)
When a vote is taken, and no dissent is declared, such
vote shall be deemed to be unanimously in favour of the question approved.
(4)
If a vote is to be recorded as herein provided, the
Advisory Committee Coordinator shall call the vote, announce the division, and
shall record them in the minutes.
17.
ALL MEMBERS VOTE
(1)
Every member present at a meeting of the Committee when a
question is put shall vote thereon, unless prohibited by statute, in which case
it shall be so recorded.
(2)
Any member who refuses to vote shall be recorded as
voting in the negative.
18.
DISPUTING VOTE
If a
member disagrees with the announcement of the Chair that a question is carried
or lost, the member may, but only immediately after the declaration by the
Chair, object to the Chair's declaration and require a recorded vote to be
taken.
PART III ORDER
OF PROCEEDINGS - AGENDAS AND MINUTES
19.
AGENDA IN COMMITTEE
(1)
The Coordinator shall have prepared and printed for the
use of the members at the regular meetings of the Advisory Committee an Agenda
setting forth the business to be considered at such meeting.
(2)
The business of the Advisory Committee shall be
considered in the order set forth on the Agenda, provided however, that the
Chair, with the approval of the Committee, may vary the order of business to
better deal with matters before the Committee.
(3)
Except as otherwise decided by a two-thirds vote of the
members of Committee present and voting, the Advisory Committee shall not
consider any report, or any
matter, that has not been distributed to the members with the Agenda.
20.
DELIVERY OF AGENDA TO MEMBERS
(1)
Not less than seven calendar days in advance of each
regular meeting of the Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee Coordinator
shall cause the following to be delivered to each member:
(a)
Agenda;
(b)
Copy of each item to be considered; and
(c)
Copy of each motion to be considered.
(2)
Delivery pursuant to Subsection (1) shall be to the
office or the residence of the member, or by electronic mail.
21.
MINUTES
(1)
Minutes shall record:
(a)
the place, date and time of meeting;
(b)
the names of the presiding officer or officers and the
record of the attendance of the members;
(c)
declarations of interest;
(d)
all the motions, resolutions or votes of the meeting
without note or comment; and
(e)
concise narrative of public delegations and action items
(directions to staff).
(2)
If the minutes have been delivered to the members, then
the minutes shall not be read, and a resolution that the minutes be confirmed
shall be in order.
(3)
After the minutes have been confirmed they shall be
signed by the Chair and by the Advisory Committee Coordinator.
PART IV RULES OF CONDUCT AND DEBATE
22.
ADDRESS THE CHAIR
Any
member desiring to speak shall signify their desire to speak in such a manner
as the Chair may direct, and upon being recognized by the Chair, shall address
the Chair.
23.
PRIVILEGE
(1)
Where a member considers that the member's rights,
immunities or integrity or the rights, immunities or integrity of the Advisory
Committee as a whole has been impugned, the member may, as a matter of
privilege, rise at any time, with the consent of the Chair, for the purpose of
drawing the attention of the Committee to the matter.
(2)
Upon being recognized by the Chair, the member shall
state the question of privilege.
(3)
The Chair shall:
(a)
determine the question, or
(b)
permit a debate and a vote to be held on the question.
24.
POINTS OF ORDER
(1)
The Chair shall preserve order and decide points of
order.
(2) (a) When a member desires to
address a point of order, the member shall ask leave of the Chair to raise a
point of order and, after leave is granted, the member shall state the point of
order to the Chair and the point of order shall be forthwith decided by the
Chair;
(b) Thereafter,
a member shall only address the Chair for the purpose
of appealing
the Chair's decision to the Advisory Committee;
(c) If no
member appeals, the decision of the Chair shall be final;
(d) The
Advisory Committee, if appealed to, shall call a vote, without debate on the
following question; "Shall the Chair be sustained?", and its decision
shall be final.
25.
UNPROVIDED CASES
(1)
In all unprovided cases in the proceedings of the
Advisory Committee, the matter shall be decided by the Chair, subject to an
appeal to the Committee.
PART V RESOLUTIONS
AND MOTIONS
26.
MOTIONS
(1)
The following matters and motions with respect thereto
may be introduced orally without notice and without leave, except as otherwise
provided by the Rules of Procedure;
(a)
a point of order or privilege;
(b)
to adjourn.
(2)
The following motions may be introduced without notice
and without leave, except as otherwise provided by the Rules of Procedure:
(a)
to refer;
(b)
to postpone or defer to a certain day;
(c)
to amend;
(d)
to suspend the Rules of Procedure;
(e)
any other procedural motion.
(3)
Except as provided in Subsection (1), all motions shall
be in writing.
(4)
The mover may withdraw a motion or a Notice of Motion at
any time prior to the commencement of debate thereon.
(5)
After a motion is read or stated by the Chair, it shall
be deemed to be in possession of the Advisory Committee, and it may only be
withdrawn before decision or amendment with the permission of the Advisory
Committee.
27.
MOTIONS RULED OUT OF ORDER
(1)
Whenever the Chair is of the opinion that a motion or
resolution is contrary to the Rules of Procedure, the Chair shall rule the
motion or resolution out of order.
(2)
A motion or resolution which requires the exercise of a
power or powers by the Advisory Committee which are not within its Terms of
Reference, shall not be in order.
28.
NOTICE OF MOTION
(1)
Notices of Motion shall be in writing and include the
name of the mover.
(2)
Consideration of a motion, of which notice was given
pursuant to this section, shall be in order at the next meeting of the Advisory
Committee.
(3)
Prior to the Advisory
Committee’s consideration of a motion of which notice has been given
previously, a revised motion on the same subject, approved by the mover, may be
substituted for the original one contained in the Notice of Motion.
29.
NO DEBATE UNTIL READ
No
member shall speak to any motion until it is first read by the Chair, and the
mover is entitled to speak first thereon if the member so elects. If debated, the question or motion may be
read again before being put.
30.
ORDER OF CONSIDERATION
(1)
When a question is under consideration, no motion shall
be received except a procedural motion or a motion to amend.
(2)
Procedural motions shall be considered immediately upon
receipt and shall have precedence and may
be subject to debate as follows:
(a)
to refer (debatable);
(b)
to defer indefinitely or to a certain day (debatable);
(c)
to adjourn (not debatable);
(d)
any other procedural motion (debatable).
31.
AMENDMENT
A Motion
to Amend:
(1)
shall be presented in writing;
(2)
only one Motion to Amend an amendment to the question
shall be allowed at one time and any further amendment must be to the main
question;
(3)
shall be relevant and not contrary to the principle of
the report, item or motion under consideration;
(4)
may propose a separate and distinct disposition of a
question provided that such altered disposition continues to relate to the same
issue which was the subject matter of the question;
(5)
shall be put in the reverse order to the order in which
it is moved; and,
(6)
despite Subsection (5), any amendment(s) to a motion may
be placed in order to be determined by the Chair as the most logical, practical
and expeditious in all of the circumstances.
PART VI GENERAL
PROVISIONS
32.
APPENDIX
Appendix “A”, being the
Advisory Committee Members’ Code of Conduct, forms part of this by-law.
33.
REPEAL
This By-law shall not be amended or repealed except
by a majority vote of all members of the whole Council.
34.
EFFECT
This
By-law shall be deemed to have come into force on the 3rd day of
December, 2003.
35.
SHORT TITLE
This By-law may be referred to as either the
"Advisory Committee Procedure By-law" or the "Rules of Procedure
for Advisory Committees".
ENACTED AND PASSED this day of , 2003.
CITY CLERK MAYOR
