MHHS · Municipal Government Act
Part 5 — Councils, Councillors and Council Committees Division 1 Councils and Council Committees
199 Meetings by electronic means
(a) "electronic means" means an electronic or telephonic
communication method that enables all persons attending a
meeting to hear and communicate with each other during the
course of the meeting;
RSA 2000
Section 199 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT ACT Chapter M-26
140
(b) "meeting" includes a hearing.
(2) A council may by bylaw provide for council meetings or
council committee meetings to be conducted by electronic means.
(2.1) Every council must by bylaw provide for public hearings
under Part 17 to be conducted by electronic means.
(3) A bylaw under subsection (2) or (2.1) must
(a) specify the type or types of electronic means by which
meetings are authorized to be held,
(b) require the identity of each councillor attending the meeting
to be confirmed by a method authorized by the bylaw,
(c) except in the case of a mee ting that is closed to the public in
accordance with section 197, specify
(i) a method by which membe rs of the public may access
the meeting and make submissions,
(ii) if a provision of this Act r equires information in respect
of the meeting to be made publicly available, a method
for making the information publicly available before and
during the meeting, and
(iii) a method for giving the public notice of the meeting, of
the method by which the public may access the meeting
and, where subclause (ii) applies, of the method by
which the public may access th e information referred to
in that subclause,
and
(d) contain any other provisions required by the regulations
under subsection (5).
(3.1) A bylaw under subsection (2.1) must be passed within 6
months from the coming into force of this subsection.
(4) Where a meeting is held by electronic means in compliance
with a bylaw under subsection (2) or (2.1) or a regulation under
subsection (5),
(a) electronic access to the m eeting may be restricted or
suspended in order to close all or part of the meeting to the
public under section 197, and, for the purposes of section
197(5), any members of the public whose access to the
RSA 2000
meeting is restricted or suspended are considered to be
present outside the meeting room during the restriction or
suspension,
(b) the meeting is deemed to be conducted in public for the
purposes of section 198,
(c) the council is deemed to have met its obligations under
section 216.4(4),
(d) the reference in section 216.4(5) to representations made at
the public hearing is to be interpreted as a reference to the
submissions received by the council in accordance with the
bylaw or regulation, as the case may be, and
(e) the term "address" in sectio n 606(6)(b) and the expression
"place where it will be held" in section 606(6)(d) are to be
interpreted as meaning a website address, telephone number
or other information identifying where the meeting can be
accessed electronically.
(5) The Minister may make regulations authorizing and respecting
the use of electronic, telephonic or other communication methods
to conduct meetings of a council or council committee.
(6) Regulations under subsection (5) may apply generally or
specifically, and may modify the requirements in this Division to
any extent the Minister considers necessary or appropriate to give
effect to the regulations.
RSA 2000 cM-26 s199;2022 c16 s9(43);2024 c11 s2(11)