Ontario Municipal Act

The Municipal Act, 2001 is the main statute governing the creation, administration and government of municipalities in the Canadian province of Ontario, other than the City of Toronto. After being passed in 2001, it came into force on 1 January 2003, replacing the previous Municipal Act.

There are complex rules as to which municipalities have authority to act on any given subject, which are summarized as follows in Section 11:

11.(1) A lower-tier municipality and an upper-tier municipality may provide any service or thing that the municipality considers necessary or desirable for the public, subject to the rules set out in subsection (4).

(2) A lower-tier municipality and an upper-tier municipality may pass by-laws, subject to the rules set out in subsection (4), respecting the following matters:

(3) A lower-tier municipality and an upper-tier municipality may pass by-laws, subject to the rules set out in subsection (4), respecting matters within the following spheres of jurisdiction:

(4) The following are the rules referred to in subsections (1), (2) and (3):

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