- Mayor Lovatt is urging Ontario to replace a proposed unanimous Council vote with a two-thirds majority for removing councillors found responsible for serious misconduct.
- The recommendation was submitted to Minister Rob Flack during the Province’s consultation on regulations under Bill 9, the newest Municipal Accountability Act.
- The proposed framework would allow a councillor’s seat to be declared vacant following layers of review, but only with unanimous council support.
- Lovatt says a two-thirds threshold would preserve a necessary democratic safeguard while preventing a single councillor from blocking removal.
- In his letter, he highlighted the Integrity Commissioner review of Councillor Rick Upton’s workplace and sexual harassment of two female Town employees.
- The Mayor explained that removing him from office was not an option, and that Council’s ability to sanction him was limited.
- Ontario proposes bringing the regulations into effect on Nov. 15, shortly after the next municipal council term begins.
Ontario’s new municipal accountability law is approaching implementation, but Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt says one of its proposed safeguards could make removing councillors responsible for serious misconduct impractical.
In a letter to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack, Lovatt urged the Province to replace a proposed requirement for unanimous Council approval when declaring a councillor’s seat vacant following qualifying misconduct findings.
Instead, Lovatt believes the threshold should be a two-thirds majority.
The recommendation was submitted as Ontario consulted on regulations needed to implement Bill 9, the Municipal Accountability Act, 2026, which received Royal Assent in June. The Province proposes bringing the regulations into effect on Nov. 15, shortly after the next municipal council term begins.
Although Lovatt supports establishing a formal process to remove elected officials in serious cases, he argues the proposed voting threshold could prevent the mechanism from being used even when the required findings have been made.
“Although removal from office is an extraordinary remedy, unanimity may make enforcement impractical, even in cases of significant misconduct,” he wrote.
A Process Years in the Making
Ontario began consulting on stronger municipal codes of conduct in March 2021, seeking ways to improve accountability and ensure elected officials maintained safe, respectful workplaces.
The initial consultation was followed by a series of legislative efforts that repeatedly stalled or failed before reaching implementation. An initial bill from the Ford government was expected at Queen’s Park in November 2021, but was suddenly abandoned shortly before it was to be tabled.
Subsequent private members’ bills from Liberal and New Democrat MPPs seeking stronger mechanisms to address harassment and abuse by municipal leaders were introduced in 2021, 2022, and 2024. They either died on the order paper, were voted down by the Progressive Conservative majority, or failed to advance.
Stouffville MPP and then Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra eventually introduced Bill 241, the first Municipal Accountability Act, in December 2024. It did not advance beyond first reading, and died on the order paper when the 2025 provincial election was called.
Its successor, Bill 9, was introduced by Flack on May 1, 2025. After committee hearings and further debate, the legislation passed third reading on May 26, 2026, and received Royal Assent on June 2. With the consultation period now over, the Province is finalizing specific regulations under the legislation.
How the Proposed Removal Process Would Work
As currently proposed, a council member’s removal from office could not follow a municipal integrity commissioner’s investigation alone, as some sanctions can currently be imposed today.
Instead, the removal process would apply when specific criteria are met, including serious contravention of a newly standardized Code of Conduct that has harmed someone’s health, safety, or well-being.
The proposed process would involve a review and removal recommendation from the municipal Integrity Commissioner, followed by an endorsement of that recommendation from the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario.
The matter would then proceed to Council, where declaring the member’s seat vacant would require unanimous approval from the sitting members. That final requirement is the central point of contention for Lovatt.
A unanimous vote would mean every sitting member must support removal for the process to succeed. Even after the considerable finding and review process, a single dissenting or allied councillor could prevent the seat from being declared vacant.
Lovatt argues that a two-thirds majority would retain a substantial threshold for such an exceptional remedy without making its use dependent on complete agreement among Council members.
“Although removal from office is an extraordinary remedy, unanimity may make enforcement impractical, even in cases of significant misconduct,” Lovatt wrote. He described the reduced threshold as “a more balanced approach” that would maintain “an effective accountability mechanism while safeguarding democratic representation.”
Lovatt’s letter draws on Stouffville Council’s experience with the Integrity Commissioner process involving Ward 4 Councillor Rick Upton, saying the case demonstrated the limits of the existing framework.
His recommendation is not unique, as municipal leaders and advocates across the province have expressed concerns about the removal process being overly restrictive.
Municipal Accountability Act regulations are intended to take effect Nov. 15, 2026. Whether the Province will accept Lovatt’s recommendation, and whether the final rules will provide the removal mechanism he and others are seeking, remains to be seen.
“I appreciate the Province’s leadership in advancing municipal accountability and look forward to ongoing dialogue on a clear, fair, and workable framework that strengthens public trust in local government,” the Mayor’s letter concluded.
Copyright 2026, Bullet Point News Stouffville. All rights reserved.
Randy Barba, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Bullet Point News Stouffville.