Simon's Legal Resources

Municipal - Charter

. Guerard v. The Corporation of the Municipality of Mississippi Mills

In Guerard v. The Corporation of the Municipality of Mississippi Mills (Div Ct, 2026) the Divisional Court dismissed a township councillor's JR, this brought against "both the [SS: Integrity] Commissioner’s findings and the penalty imposed by the Municipality", these under the municipality’s Code of Conduct regarding non-compliance with the municipality's COVID vaccination policy.

Here the court notes the reduced privacy [s.8 Charter] interest of "those who participate in regulated spheres of activity":

[54] The Commissioner referred to the diminished expectations of privacy during regulatory investigations, relying on British Columbia Securities Commission v. Branch, 1995 CanLII 142 (SCC), [1995] 2 S.C.R. 3. As the respondents argue, Branch makes the point that those who participate in regulated spheres of activity have diminished expectations of privacy in the context of that activity: Branch, at para. 57. In the sphere of activity which is at issue in this case, being a member of a municipal council, those who run for municipal office and are elected assume the obligation to be bound by the relevant municipality’s code of conduct including its restrictions, if any, on speech: Buck v. Morris, 2015 ONSC 5632, at paras. 191 – 193.