70. (1) The council may appoint permanent or special committees, composed of as many of its members as it may deem necessary, to supervise the administration of the several civic departments for which they are respectively appointed, and to manage such business as it may, by by-law or resolution, assign to them.The council may replace any member of the said committees whenever it thinks proper.
The mayor shall be a member exofficio of all committees, and shall have a right to vote therein.
Every committee shall render account of its labours and decisions by reports signed by its chairman or by a majority of the members who compose it.
No report of a committee appointed under this section shall have any effect until it has been ratified or adopted by the council.
(2) The council, by by-law, may:(a) establish a town-planning commission, composed of such number of members as it shall determine, who may be chosen from among the members of the council, the officers or employees of the municipality and the ratepayers residing in the municipality;
(b) assign to such commission powers of study and recommendation in matters of construction, zoning, aesthetics and the master plan of the municipality;
(c) delegate to it its powers, or some of its powers, respecting the application of its by-laws relating to the aforesaid matters;
(d) create the offices of chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, treasurer or secretary-treasurer of such commission, or such of those offices as it may deem useful;
(e) define the duties and functions of the commission, its members and its officers;
(f) empower the commission to establish its rules of internal management;
(g) fix the term of office of the members;
(h) authorize the council to appoint, by resolution, the members and officers of the commission and to add to it, also by resolution, persons whose services may be necessary for the performance of its duties.
The council may vote and place at the disposal of the commission the sums of money which it may need for the fulfilment of its duties.
(3) Several municipal corporations may combine to establish a joint town-planning commission for the whole territory under their jurisdiction, with such of the powers, duties and functions mentioned in subsection 2 as they may deem expedient to assign to it.Each municipal corporation shall pass for such purpose a by-law in accordance with the agreement. Each must be represented on the commission by at least one member appointed by it by resolution.
Furthermore, all the provisions of subsection 2 which are not inconsistent with those of this subsection shall apply, mutatismutandis, to joint commissions established under this subsection.