Skip to content
You are here > Home > Your Ministry > OnRAMP > Northeastern Ontario > Municipal Government and Finance

Your Ministry

Email this pageMunicipal Government and Finance

Town of Spanish Municipal Office Building

Line

Government Organization

List of Incorporated Northeastern Ontario Municipalities Northeastern Ontario municipalities are all single tier municipalities, generally called cities, towns or townships. In Northeastern Ontario there are seven (7) districts: Algoma, Cochrane, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Sudbury, Timiskaming, and the City of Greater Sudbury.  The following link provides a comprehensive list of all Northeastern Ontario municipalities and contains web address links to the individual municipalities’ web-sites.

List of municipalities by alphabetical order by district (provides web address link to individual municipalities)

Committees of Council
Councils appoint citizen members to many committees, commissions, task forces, and panels. The groups to which council appoints citizen volunteers fall into two categories:

  1. Mandatory committees established under a statute are administrative or quasi-judicial in character; some or all of the members are appointed by council, such as on the library boards, police services boards, and committees of adjustment.
  2. Committees of council provide information and advice to council and staff on public policy issues.

Police Services Boards
Police services boards are administrative bodies that deal with public policy issues, as well as ensure that there is efficient and effective police service in each community.

For further information:

Committees of Adjustment
A committee of adjustment is appointed by a council to make decisions on minor variances, alterations to legal non-conforming uses and consents or severances.   Each committee can provide information on minor variance applications (relief from zoning by-law), consent applications (severance of land), easements and agreements, specifically, they are responsible for circulating applications, scheduling public meetings, recording minutes of the meetings and finalizing decisions on applications.  A committee of adjustment hears each application and the expressed concerns of area residents and then makes a decision on each application.  For further information contact your local municipality or the Ontario Association of Committees of Adjustment & Consent Authorities (OALA).

Planning Boards
For more information on planning matters, visit the Community Planning and Development page.

Top

Special Purpose Bodies, Agencies, Boards and Commissions

Local Service Boards
Local Service Boards (LSB) are incorporated organizations that arrange for basic community services in areas of Northern Ontario without municipal organization. Established under the Northern Services Boards Act, their powers may include fire protection, water supply, garbage collection, sewage, street and area lighting, recreation, public library service, and roads.

Local Services Boards are established by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) which oversees their operation. The Ministry provides funding to the Local Service Boards to assist them in the delivery of services. 

Information on Local Service Boards in Northeastern Ontario is available from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines at 705-564-7517

Local Roads Boards
Local roads boards (LRBs) are established under the Local Roads Boards Act. MNDM allocates funding and, in conjunction with Ministry of Transportation, supports the maintenance and construction of local roads in areas without municipal organization.

Information on Local Roads Boards in Northeastern Ontario is available from the  Ministry of Transportation at 705-564-7722.

District Social Services Administration Boards
District Social Services Administration Boards (DSSAB’s) are boards established in Northern Ontario to deliver social services, such as, child care, social housing and in some cases, land ambulance.  In addition to municipal members, the board composition includes representative(s) from the unincorporated areas.  The City of Greater Sudbury delivers these services directly and does not belong to a DSSAB.  There are  ten (10) DSSAB’s in the North, with seven (7) in the Northeast:

Public Health Units
The role of public health units is described in the Ontario Ministry of Health Mandatory Program Guidelines.  A health unit is a non-profit, government agency funded 50% by the municipalities it serves and 50% by the provincial government.  It is governed by a board of health which is comprised of municipal representatives and provincial appointees.  Northeastern Ontario is serviced by six (6) health units. 

First Nation Communities

Top

Legislation and Regulations

Municipal Act, 2001

  • Key Dates to Remember: Important submission or action dates for municipalities related to the Municipal Act, 2001.
  • Link to information on the Municipal Act, 2001 and associated regulations, and
  • A plain language e-guide on the Act that compares the former Act with the current Act, and provides practical implementation examples/tips.

Municipal Conflict of Interest Act

The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act sets out a framework for when it is appropriate for members of municipal council and local boards to participate in decision-making, keeping in mind the overall goal of protecting the public interest.  

Municipal Elections Act, 1996

e-lawsE-Laws

Access all other Provincial legislation and regulations on e-laws.

Top

Programs and Projects

Municipal Performance Measurement Program

  • The Municipal Performance Measurement Program (MPMP) is an initiative designed to provide taxpayers with useful information on service delivery and municipalities with a tool to improve those services over time.

Municipal Restructuring
The Municipal Act, 2001 defines three types of municipalities:  upper-tier municipalities and lower-tier municipalities within a two-tier municipal system, and single-tier municipalities that are not part of a two-tier system.  Since the mid – 1990’s, expansion of urban areas, the changes in responsibility of local government and provincial government initiatives have led to a number of municipal restructurings in Northeastern Ontario. More detailed information can be found on the MMAH Municipal Restructuring web page and Restructuring Maps of Ontario.

The most common type of municipal restructuring in Northeastern Ontario involves one or more municipalities and the annexation of unincorporated territory.   This has also brought large areas of unincorporated territory under municipal governance, creating stronger and more viable communities.

Municipal Financial Information Returns

Section 300 – Reporting to the Public on Service Improvements and Barriers
Under Section 300 of the Municipal Act, 2001, municipalities are required to provide yearly notice to the public of improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of their service delivery and barriers to achieving improvements.  The manner and form of the notice is not specified.

For more background information and suggestions, see Fact Sheet and Sample Report on Service Improvements (link coming soon)

Infrastructure Management

  • Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Renewal
  • Infrastructure Canada provides funding opportunities and information in support of infrastructure development.
  • Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF) is a partnership between the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and Ontario municipalities. We are working together to improve and renew public infrastructure across the province.
  • The Ontario Strategic Infrastructure Financing Authority (OSIFA), an agency that reports to the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, is an innovative financing vehicle developed to provide Ontario municipalities with access to low-cost, longer-term, fixed-rate loans to build and renew critical public infrastructure. For more information on OSIFA's infrastructure loan program visit www.osifa.on.ca

Innovative Service Delivery
Innovative Service Delivery - approaches and practices in the public sector.

Ontario Municipal CAO's Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI)
OMBI is a municipal partnership project assisting Ontario municipalities to analyze service delivery performance, encouraging service excellence in municipal government.

Top

Tools and Resources

FAQs

Follow these links to find answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on provincial legislation/regulations/programs:

Procurement Guide for Municipalities
The Municipal Act, 2001 requires municipalities and local boards to develop policies by bylaw, or in the case of local boards by resolution, that will be used to guide the procurement of goods and services.  To learn more about considerations/processes in the development of procurement policies review the Procurement Guide for Municipalities.

For more information on public procurement visit:

Property Assessment and Taxation

Water
Find valuable information regarding water related programs, legislation, regulations and initiatives on the Ministry of the Environment website.

Municipal Business and Financial Tools
Business/Financial - access to a variety guides, handbooks and reference material for municipalities to use in their daily business.

Accessibility Ontario Sites
Access up-to date information on accessibility issues relating to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 and answers to most frequently asked questions. 

Rural Community and Organizational Development ResourcesOnline fact sheets on community and organization development, strategic and program planning for organizations, as well as many other topics at Rural Development Information, Resources and Fact Sheets.

Northeastern Ontario Local Government Conferences and Workshops Presentations

  • Under development

Top

Links

Related Ontario Government Sites

Federal Government Sites

Municipal Associations/ Organizations/ Academic Institutions