O-8 - Act respecting municipal organization of certain territories

Updated to 1 April 1999

This document has official status.

chapter O-8

Act respecting municipal organization of certain territories

Repealed, 1988, c. 19, s. 258.

1988, c. 19, s. 258.

1. In this act, the words “Minister” and “municipality” used alone mean the Minister of Municipal Affairs and a municipality constituted under this act respectively.

1971, c. 54, s. 1.

2. The Government may issue letters patent to constitute as a municipality any part of the territory of Québec not comprised in a city, town, village or country municipality when, in the opinion of the Minister, it would not be immediately desirable to constitute a town or country municipality.

The letters patent issued under this section must contain a description of the territory concerned and also, in the case of amalgamation, the conditions of amalgamation.

1971, c. 54, s. 2.

3. From the coming into force of the letters patent constituting the municipality, the inhabitants of the territory of such municipality shall constitute a corporation designated under the name mentioned in the letters patent.

1971, c. 54, s. 3.

4. The Government may, by letters patent, alter the territory of the municipality by annexing to it any other contiguous territory which has no local municipal organization.

1971, c. 54, s. 4.

5. The municipality shall be governed by the Municipal Code (chapter C-27.1) or by the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19), as the Government determines, with the exception of such provisions as may be inconsistent with this act and of those which the Government, by letters patent, declares inapplicable in whole or in part to the municipality or to a part thereof.

1971, c. 54, s. 5.

6. The council and the officers and employees of the county corporation or regional county municipality in the territory in which the municipality is located, or would be located in section 18 did not apply, constitute the council and the officers and employees of the municipality, subject to the third paragraph of section 17.

For the purposes of this Act, only the representatives of the municipalities governed by the Municipal Code (chapter C-27.1) on the council of the regional county municipality are qualified to take part in the deliberations and to vote, except where no representative of such a municipality has a seat on the council, in which case all the members of the council are so qualified.

For the purposes of this Act, only the taxpayers of the municipality may be required to contribute to the financing of the expenditures of the county corporation or the regional county municipality, in accordance with the Municipal Code or the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19), as the case may be.

1971, c. 54, s. 6; 1982, c. 63, s. 228.

7. (Replaced).

1971, c. 54, s. 7; 1982, c. 63, s. 228.

8. (Replaced).

1971, c. 54, s. 8; 1982, c. 63, s. 228.

9. (Replaced).

1971, c. 54, s. 9; 1982, c. 63, s. 228.

10. (1)  The Minister may establish a local committee in the municipality; he must do so in any municipality or part of the municipality which he determines if it is permanently inhabited by at least one hundred persons; any part of the municipality shall then constitute a locality under the name designated by the Minister.

(2)  A local committee shall consist of not more than five members appointed by the Minister for four years, if there are fewer than one hundred inhabitants in the municipality; the Minister shall, instead of making the appointments, order that the members of the committee be elected for four years, at such time and according to such mode as he prescribes, if the territory in which the committee has jurisdiction is permanently inhabited by at least one hundred persons.

(3)  To be eligible to the office of member of a local committee or to be entitled to vote at the election of the members of such committee, a person must be of full age and a Canadian citizen.

(4)  The members of a local committee shall not perform their duties until they have taken the oath to discharge well and faithfully the duties of their office.

1971, c. 54, s. 10.

11. The council may delegate its powers to the local committee, but every decision of the committee requires its approval.

1971, c. 54, s. 11; 1982, c. 63, s. 229.

12. A majority of the members of a local committee shall constitute a quorum. The members of a local committee shall receive no remuneration for their services as such. However, the council may authorize payment of travelling expenses and other expenses actually incurred by a member of a local committee in the performance of his duties.

1971, c. 54, s. 12; 1982, c. 63, s. 229.

13. The office of member of the local committee shall become vacant:

(a)  by death;

(b)  by failure to take the oath within thirty days of the appointment or election;

(c)  by the expiry of the term of office for which the member was appointed or elected.

The office of member of the local committee shall also become vacant on the date when the secretary-treasurer receives the resignation of the incumbent.

The secretary-treasurer shall forthwith notify the Minister of the vacancy.

1971, c. 54, s. 13; 1982, c. 63, s. 230.

14. Every vacancy in the local committee shall be filled by following the procedure for appointment or election, as the case may be, and the member so appointed or elected shall hold office only for the unexpired portion of the term of his predecessor.

1971, c. 54, s. 14.

15. The municipality or any part of it may be constituted a town municipality or a country municipality, according to the procedure provided in the Cities and Towns Act (chapter C-19) or the Municipal Code (chapter C-27.1), as the case may be. From the time of such constitution, the municipality or the part concerned shall cease to be governed by this act.

The orders, acts, resolutions, by-laws or other municipal proceedings in force in the municipality when this act ceases to apply to it shall remain in force until amended, replaced or set aside by the council of the town or country municipality.

1971, c. 54, s. 15.

16. The Government may decide that any city, town, village or country municipality, by whatever law governed, which no longer fulfils the conditions that enabled it to be constituted, shall become a municipality.

It may also do so if the members of the council of a municipality mentioned in the first paragraph can no longer be elected or appointed under the law governing it.

The Minister shall give notice of such decision in the Gazette officielle du Québec and such decision shall take effect from the date mentioned in the notice.

In addition to the powers contemplated in section 5, the Government may, by letters patent, declare applicable to a municipality contemplated in section 16, certain provisions of any special act governing it.

1971, c. 54, s. 16.

17. In the cases contemplated in section 16, the municipality succeeds to the rights, obligations and charges of the city, town, village or country municipality; it becomes, without proceedings in continuance of suit, a party to every suit, in the place and stead of such municipality.

The by-laws, resolutions, procès-verbaux, valuation rolls, collection rolls, existing collective agreements and other acts of such municipality shall remain in force until amended, set aside or repealed.

The officers and municipal employees of such municipality shall continue to be in the employ of the municipality until their resignation or replacement.

Furthermore, in the case contemplated in the first paragraph, the term of office of the members of the council shall end on the day when the decision of the Government takes effect.

1971, c. 54, s. 17.

18. A municipality shall not form part of any county municipality; in addition to the functions and powers of a local corporation, it shall have those conferred upon a county corporation.

1971, c. 54, s. 18.

19. The letters patent issued under this Act shall be published in the Gazette officielle du Québec and shall come into force on a date determined by the Government.

1971, c. 54, s. 19.

20. (Repealed).

1971, c. 54, s. 20 (part); 1982, c. 63, s. 231.

21. The expenses incurred by the Minister for the benefit of a municipality, before or after it is constituted, must be repaid by such municipality to the extent and in the manner determined by the Government.

1971, c. 54, s. 21; 1982, c. 63, s. 232.

22. (This section ceased to have effect on 17 April 1987).

1982, c. 21, s. 1; U. K., 1982, c. 11, Sch. B, Part I, s. 33.

REPEAL SCHEDULE

In accordance with section 17 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes (chapter R-3), chapter 54 of the statutes of 1971, in force on 31 December 1977, is repealed, except sections 20 (part) and 22, effective from the coming into force of chapter O-8 of the Revised Statutes.