8. 2010 MUNICIPAL BALLOT QUESTION
QUESTION SUR LE BULLETIN DE VOTE
DES ELECTIONS MUNICIPALES 2010
No Committee Recommendation.
Aucune
recommandation du Comité.
DOCUMENTATION
1. Corporate
Services and Economic Development Committee’s report dated 26 March 2010
(ACS2010-CMR-CSE-0014).
2. Extract of Draft Minute,
6 April 2010 to be
distributed prior to Council.
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
Comité des services
organisationnels et du développement économique
and Council / et au
Conseil
26 March 2010 / le 26 mars 2010
Submitted by/Soumis par : Alta Vista Ward/quartier Councillor/Conseiller Peter Hume
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Peter Hume,
Councillor, Alta Vista Ward /
conseiller, quartier Alta Vista
(613) 580-2488, Peter.Hume@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
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OBJET
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QUESTION SUR LE BULLETIN DE VOTE DES ELECTIONS MUNICIPALES 2010 |
That the
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend that Council give formal notice of the intent to
pass a by-law on April 28, 2010, to permit the following question to be placed
on the ballot for the October 25, 2010 municipal elections:
Should the City, in consultation with the
Leadership Table on Homelessness and community agencies, implement a
comprehensive strategy, with an investment of at least $5 million a year,
toward the goal of ending chronic homelessness in Ottawa by 2014?
Que le Comité et le Conseil donnent
un avis officiel de leur intention d’adopter, le 28 avril prochain, un
règlement visant à permettre l’inscription de la question suivante sur le
bulletin de vote des élections municipales du 25 octobre 2010 :
À votre avis, la Ville devrait-elle mettre en œuvre une stratégie
générale, en consultation avec le Forum du leadership sur le sans-abrisme et
des organismes communautaires, au moyen
d’un investissement annuel d’au moins 5 millions de dollars, dans le but
de mettre un terme au sans-abrisme chronique à Ottawa d’ici 2014.
In May 2009, the Leadership
Table on Homelessness, a group of prominent Ottawa citizens, led by Janet Yale,
released a report titled, “Destination Home,” a plan to end chronic
homelessness in Ottawa. This report is
on file in the City Clerk and Solicitor’s Office.
The report outlined 3 core
strategies:
1) Housing First: Provide a permanent, stable home for every
chronically homeless person.
2) Support
Services: Provide each chronically homeless person with the support he or she
needs in order to remain housed and off the streets.
3) Engagement:
Build understanding about chronic homelessness and engage the community in
helping provide housing and support services to the chronically homeless.
It is with respect to the
third core strategy that this 2010 ballot initiative is focused. The report of
the Leadership Table on Homelessness was clear when it stated that:
“Without
a collective understanding and determination to make a difference, political
enthusiasm for change will wane, needed decisions will be delayed and
challenges will go unmet. We can end chronic homelessness in our community by
educating everyone — from students to seniors, from ordinary citizens to
politicians, from businesses to institutions — and by involving people from all
walks of life in this community-wide issue. All that is required is a broader
appreciation for the task involved, for the costs of inaction and for the
prospect that lasting success is achievable.”
In the next term of Council, the
best way to educate and involve the citizens of Ottawa and create a broader
appreciation for the task involved is by presenting a question on the municipal
ballott. Briefly, a question on the
ballot must be clear, concise and must be answerable by either “yes” or “no.”
Legislative Authority
The
Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA) establishes rules and
processes for placing questions on municipal ballots and regulates campaigns
that arise in support of or in opposition to questions on the ballot.
The
question must relate to a matter within the jurisdiction of the municipality, and
must not be deemed to be of “provincial interest” as defined in Ontario
Regulation 425/100 (set out in Document 2 of this report). For example, a question on the ballot would
be deemed to be “of provincial interest” where the municipality “does not have
the authority to implement all aspects of the results of the question” or
“requires an action by the Province of Ontario in order to implement the
results of the question.”
The
results are binding on the council if at least 50 per cent of eligible electors
in the municipality vote on the question. If there is a “yes” vote, with 50 per
cent or greater turnout, council must do everything in its power to implement
the results of the question within a timely manner.
If
there is a “no” vote, with 50 per cent or greater turnout, council may not do
anything in its jurisdiction to implement the matter that was the subject of
the question during the next term of office.
Furthermore, implementation of the results of a question can be delayed or cancelled if conditions substantially change. For example, if there is a binding “yes” vote to build a community centre and the municipality experiences substantial financial difficulties, then the municipality has the option not to proceed with implementation.
Putting a question on the ballot will necessitate some changes to the current processes for the municipal election.
Specifically, as there is no space on the front of the ballot, the question would be placed on the back of the ballot for a cost of approximately $15,000. In addition, appropriate notification to all voters of a question on the ballot is vital in this process. Staff would need to produce an additional insert providing information on the question at an approximate cost $55,000 including postage and production.
Staff did investigate issuing a second ballot for the question, but do not recommend going forward on that basis. Currently, the City of Ottawa uses five (5) different ballot faces, depending upon the school board Trustee race. Each ballot contains the candidates for the Mayor in the first column, Councillor in the middle column and school board Trustee in the third column. The second and third columns vary depending upon the ward and school board. In order to place a question on the ballot which is consistent for every ward and every ballot, the question would have to be placed on the back of the ballot as there is no space available on the front of the ballot.
Introducing a sixth ballot face which would contain the question only is not practical for numerous reasons. In effect, such a sixth city-wide ballot would:
· double the amount of ballots to be produced at an estimated cost of $155,000;
· double the weight of ballots being issued to the election workers; and
· require double the amount of supply and ballot boxes issued to election workers at an estimated production cost of $20,000.
Staff also looked at whether an additional insert would be needed or whether the information could be provided on the current, planned inserts. The City currently notifies all voters of the date, time and locations for the three (3) days of voting. In order to keep postage costs to a minimum, the voter notices are issued to each household rather than to each individual voter. For the 2010 municipal elections, the bilingual voter notice will contain two inserts. The first insert will provide information on the voting process, including accessibility initiatives and the second insert will provide information on the forms of identification now required in order to receive a ballot. Along with these two inserts there will be voter notices for up to five (5) persons residing in the household.
As the City has not had a ballot question before, staff believe appropriate notification to all voters of a question on the ballot is vital in this process and, therefore, an additional insert is necessary. With the introduction of a third information insert it would be necessary to reduce the number of voter notices to three (3) persons residing in the household in order to meet Canada Post incentive rates for envelope weight requirements.
Finally, should Council place this question on the ballot, it should be understood that City staff would not be taking a position on the question. Any formal “yes” or “no” campaign would be undertaken as a political campaign, and the relevant provisions of the Election Related Resources Policy would apply.
There are no rural implications.
This item will be advertised in the local dailies as part of the Public Meeting Advertisement on Friday preceding the Community and Protective Services Committee Meeting.
Should Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend that Council consider placing a question on the ballot, pursuant to Subsection 8.1(4) of the MEA, notice of intent to pass a by-law must be provided to the public and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing at least ten [10] days prior to the Council meeting.
The authority for and legal effects of submitting a question to the electors is discussed under Legislative Authority above. There are no further Legal/Risk Management Implications to the consideration of this report.
The City Clerk and Solicitor recommends that this matter be considered near the commencement of the Council meeting of April 28, 2010. As a by-law must be adopted no later than April 28, 2010 to be submitted to the electors with the 2010 regular election, this will permit staff to make any changes to the by-law should Council adopt this report but amend the wording in the question.
Should Council pass a by-law to place a question on the back
of an existing ballot, additional funds in the amount of $70,000 would be
required. These additional expenditures
would be funded from the Election Reserve fund.
The financial implications from future additional investments in
homelessness by the City arising from this by-law would be reviewed as part of
the yearly budget process or within separate reports to Council.
Staff will take appropriate action to implement the decisions of Committee and Council.