How does repeal of code of conduct provisions affect you?
Bill 50, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, received royal assent earlier this month. As a result, all code of conduct bylaw provisions are no longer legally enforceable.
What this means for your municipality
Standalone code of conduct bylaws: If your municipality has a standalone code of conduct bylaw, no council motion is required to repeal it. Your administration should simply remove the bylaw from your municipality's list of active bylaws.
Code of conduct embedded in other bylaws: If code of conduct provisions are included within another bylaw, those specific provisions are now without legal force. Your municipality should take steps in the near future to amend those bylaws or repeal and replace them with new versions that exclude code of conduct content.
Other Bill 50 updates
Natural person powers – New ministerial authority: Bill 50 introduces a provision that allows the Minister of Municipal Affairs to create regulations requiring CAOs to report to council when the municipality exercises its natural person powers. This amendment addresses concerns raised by ABmunis about overly prescriptive timelines for CAO reporting when the bill was first introduced. When engagement begins on the forthcoming regulation, ABmunis will advocate for a narrow and specific scope, ensuring CAOs are only required to inform council in limited, clearly defined circumstances.
Future Engagement on Bill 50: Municipal Affairs will consult municipalities on various components of Bill 50, including natural person powers and a proposed provincial standard for meeting procedures.
