Legislative amendments
In 2015, Conflict of Interest provisions were amended in The Cities Act, The Municipalities Act and The Northern Municipalities Act, 2010. The amendments improved and introduced rules on:
- Conflict of interest
- Public disclosure
- Procedural bylaws
- Employee code of conduct
- Council member code of ethics
- Oath of Office
Legislation was again amended in 2020 to clarify the definition of conflict of interest to better align with the common law definition. A conflict of interest is now defined as improperly furthering another person's private interest, instead of a closely connected person.
Requirements for municipalities
To assist with the proper handling of potential conflicts of interest, legislation requires municipalities to have the following in place:
- A public disclosure statement for council members, including amendments and updates
- A council procedures bylaw
- A code of ethics bylaw
Sample documents available for download
To help make it easier for municipal governments to implement the rules set out in the legislation, the Ministry of Government Relations developed sample documents.
The following sample documents are to be used by municipal administration. The documents are required by legislation. It is recommended that municipal councils tailor them to suit their individual needs.
Help and how-to
The Ministry of Government Relations has also developed the following resources to help municipalities complete and implement these conflict of interest amendments:
If you have any questions about these changes, or if you need more information about the resources available for municipalities, contact:
- 306-425-4320 (Northern municipalities)
- 306-787-2680 (Other municipalities)
