About Council & Committees
County Council is composed of the mayors and deputy mayors of each of the 16 towns and townships located within Simcoe County. Council meeting processes are set out in the County’s Procedure By-law.
With few exceptions, County Council meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. County Council meetings start at 9:00 a.m. and are held in the Council Chambers of the County Administration Centre at 1110, Highway 26, Midhurst, Ontario, unless otherwise posted. Committee of the Whole meetings are typically held immediately following County Council meetings.
Council and Committee meetings will be live streamed to the County of Simcoe’s YouTube channel. Questions about the live stream or meetings should be directed to clerks@simcoe.ca
Meetings may proceed into closed session (Private) at which time the stream will cease/stop, however once the meeting rises, the stream will reconvene. Depending on your browser settings, you may have to refresh your browser.
Click on the following to view our calendar of scheduled meetings.
What Council Does
“Simcoe District” was established in 1843 by the Legislature of Upper Canada. The Corporation of the County of Simcoe is comprised of the 16 towns and townships located within Simcoe County.
As an “upper tier” municipality, the County of Simcoe is responsible for a range of municipal services which include social housing, land ambulance and emergency planning, environmental services (solid waste management), a County road system, Ontario Works, children’s services, long term care, museum, archives, forests, tourism, and land use policy planning.
The local, or “lower tier” municipalities are responsible for water and sewer services, local roads, public libraries, recreation services, fire and police services, land use development control, licensing, and permitting services.
The head of County Council is called the Warden. The members of County Council elect a Warden from amongst the council members at an Inaugural Meeting, held in December of the first and third year of the Council’s term. At this meeting, Council also elects the chairs and vice-chairs of the Business Sections for Human Services, Corporate Services, and Performance Management related matters.
All members of County Council sit as Committee of the Whole. Members of Council are also appointed to various internal and external committees and boards, such as the Accessibility Advisory Committee, Audit and Finance Committee, Economic Development Sub-Committee, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, and Hospital Board or Committee positions.
Committees are not authorized to make decisions unless specific authority to do so has been delegated by County Council. Committees make recommendations which are recorded in a report from each meeting. Committee reports are then presented to the next regular Council meeting for consideration.
Numerous sub-committees follow a similar reporting system. Generally, they report to a one of the Business Sections within Committee of the Whole, however, there may be occasions when the report of a sub-committee meeting is presented directly to Council.
Individuals who wish to appear before a Committee or Council may submit a request, in writing, to the County Clerk. For additional information, see below on how to Request a Delegation.
The cities of Barrie and Orillia, although separate politically and administratively from the County, are geographically and economically part of the County. The County of Simcoe provides services such as long term care, social services, and social housing to residents of the cities and the cities participate in funding for the archives and museum. City representatives serve on the County committees that oversee matters that relate to these departments.
Committees and Boards
Council Committee of the Whole reports to County Council. Within Committee of the Whole, there are three business sections: Performance Management, Human Services, and Corporate Services. The following list shows the business sections and the Committees and Sub-Committees that report through them to Committee of the Whole. The Governance and Striking Committees report directly to County Council.
The Simcoe County Housing Corporation Board holds meetings during the Human Services portion of the Committee of the Whole meetings, and the Shareholder, being the County of Simcoe Council holds its Annual Meeting during a session of County Council.
- Council
- Committee of the Whole
- Performance Management
- Accessibility Advisory Committee
- Audit and Finance Committee
- Human Services
- Affordable Housing Advisory Committee
- Corporate Services
- Agricultural Liaison Committee
- Economic Development Sub-committee
- Planning Advisory Committee
- Grant Task Force
- Performance Management
- Governance Committee
- Committee of the Whole
Council Member Contacts
View our 2022-2026 County Council Members
Request a Delegation
Council and Committee meetings will be live streamed to the County of Simcoe’s YouTube channel. Questions about the live stream or meetings should be directed to clerks@simcoe.ca.
Meetings may proceed into closed session (Private) at which time the stream will cease/stop, however once the meeting rises, the stream will reconvene. Depending on your browser settings, you may have to refresher your browser.
Any individual who wishes to appear before a Committee or Council meeting may request to do so by completing the Request for Delegation Form and returning it to the County Clerk’s Department. As agendas are usually created one week before the meeting, it is best to submit your request early.
Please direct your request to:
County Clerk
County of Simcoe Administration Centre
1110 Highway 26
Midhurst, ON L9X 1N6
by e-mail to clerks@simcoe.ca, or by fax to (705) 725-1285.
Once the above information is received in the County Clerk’s office, you will be contacted to confirm your placement on an agenda. Although the County endeavours to accommodate such requests, it may not always be possible. Should this happen, the Clerk’s staff will contact the requester to provide an explanation.
Please refer to the list of meeting dates for Committees and Council.
Please refer to this page for additional information regarding Participating Electronically in a Meeting.
Council Chamber’s Technology – What’s Available?
The Council Chamber’s technology includes:
- LCD projection; and
- Laptop
Closed Meeting Investigator
Under Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, any individual may request that an investigation be undertaken to determine whether a municipality or local board has complied with the Municipal Act or its Procedure By-law No. 6703 in respect of a meeting or part of a meeting that was closed to the public.
The County of Simcoe (the “municipality”) is committed to ensuring that any request for an investigation under Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended (the “Act”) is dealt with in a fair, open and expeditious manner.
The municipality commits to full co-operation including the provision of all information requested by the Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator (“Investigator”), either written or through interviews, to assist the Municipal Investigator in his investigations.
In accordance with Section 239.2(11) of the Municipal Act, 2001, the County of Simcoe shall ensure that any reports received from the Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator by the municipality are made available to the public.
The municipality commits to including any report received from the Investigator related to an investigation under the Act, on a public agenda and to considering such report in an open public session of Council or a Standing Committee of Council.
Questions can be directed to the Clerk’s Department, County of Simcoe Administration Centre, 1110 Highway 26, Midhurst, ON L9X 1N6 or by contacting the Clerk’s Department at 705-726-9300 Ext. 1246 or through e-mail to jonathan.magill@simcoe.ca
This procedure applies to all appointed Boards and sub-committees of the municipality.
A resolution passed by County Council authorized the appointment of LAS and their delegated investigator Aird and Berlis LLP. as the Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator and authorized them to conduct investigations upon receipt of a complaint in respect of meetings or part of meetings that are closed to the public to determine compliance with the Act or the Municipal Procedure By-law and to report on the results of such investigations.
Prior to submitting a request for investigation, members of the public, including corporations, are encouraged to discuss their concerns or inquiries with the municipal clerk.
Members of the public, including corporations, may submit requests to the Investigator relating to compliance with the Act or the Municipal Procedure By-law for meetings or part of meetings that are closed to the public.
All requests will be treated confidential by the municipality and the Investigator, unless authorization is given by the requestor to release his or her identity.
Request forms may be downloaded from the municipality’s website or are available in the Clerk’s Department.
Requests may be submitted on the Request Form or otherwise in writing in a sealed envelope clearly identified as a complaint under Section 239 of the Municipal Act and forwarded by mail to:
The Clerk,
County of Simcoe
Administration Centre
1110 Highway 26
Midhurst, ON L9X 1N6
or to
John Mascarin
Aird & Berlis, LLP
Brookfield Place
181 Bay St, Suite 1800
Toronto, ON M5J 2T9
Phone: 416-865-7721
Email: jmascarin@airdberlis.com
All complaints must contain:
- Name of municipality
- Requestor’s name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (if applicable)
- Date of closed meeting under consideration
- Nature and background of the particular occurrence
- Any activities undertaken (if any) to resolve the concern
- Any other relevant information
- Direction with respect to release of identity
- Original signature
When requests are submitted directly to the Clerk, the Clerk shall follow the following procedures:
- Ensure that the requests remain confidential;
- Assign a file number and record a file number on the envelope;
- Log the file number together with the date and time received;
- Forward, forthwith to the Municipal Investigator by regular mail.
For all requests the municipality shall supply forthwith to the investigator the following or any other information or documentation as requested by the Investigator related to a complaint:
- Certified copy of Notice of Meeting
- Certified copy of the agenda
- Certified copy of the Minutes of meeting
- Relevant resolutions
- Municipal contact list
- other
The Investigator will commence his investigation within two weeks of receipt of a request.
Integrity Commissioner
An Integrity Commissioner is an independent resource who reports to council and who is responsible for performing in an independent manner the functions assigned by the municipality with respect to:
1. The application of the code of conduct for members of council and members of local boards.
2. The application of any procedures, rules and policies of the municipality and local boards governing the ethical behaviour of members of council and of local boards.
3. The application of sections 5, 5.1 and 5.2 of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act to members of council and of local boards.
4. Requests from members of council and of local boards for advice respecting their obligations under the code of conduct applicable to the member.
5. Requests from members of council and of local boards for advice respecting their obligations under a procedure, rule or policy of the municipality or of the local board, as the case may be, governing the ethical behaviour of members.
6. Requests from members of council and of local boards for advice respecting their obligations under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
7. The provision of educational information to members of council, members of local boards, the municipality and the public about the municipality’s codes of conduct for members of council and members of local boards and about the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
Effective January 1, 2018, the County of Simcoe has appointed Principles Integrity to deliver the above services. The Integrity Commissioner can be contacted at:
Principles Integrity
Attention: Jeffrey A. Abrams and Janice Atwood
Telephone: 647-259-8697
Email: postoffice@principlesintegrity.org
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