Task Forces and Special Committees

The Audit Committee is responsible for the following:

• to report directly to the Municipal Council;
• to oversee all audit matters, including evaluation of internal and external services to ensure effective, independent, yet complementary audit services are received;
• to satisfy itself as to the existence and terms of an Engagement letter from the external auditors and the outsourced internal auditors, as advised by the Administration;
• to review the arrangements for the scope of the annual audits, accounting principles (including alternatives), materiality limits incorporated in the audit, and to determine the reasonableness and adequacy of the audit fee;
• to review the auditors' report and audited financial statements and to satisfy itself that these financial statements present fairly, the financial position and results of operations, and that the external auditors have no reservations about these statements, and to make such recommendations thereon to the Municipal Council as deemed necessary;
• to satisfy itself that there are no unresolved issues between the Administration and the auditors, and that there is a good working relationship between the Administration and the auditors;
• to review the auditors' management letters, together with the implementation plans, as advised by the Chief Administrative Officer;
• to recommend the appointment of new auditors on the advice of the Administration, in the event of a vacancy;
• to annually review and approve the work plan from the outsourced internal auditor, including providing input for the risk-based audit plan;
• authorize assignments (internal and/or external) as may be determined necessary, from time-to-time;
• to receive reports of the external and internal auditors, including the interim and annual summary reports of findings from the auditors; and, 
• to receive the functional reporting of the outsourced internal auditor.

• Deputy Mayor
• Three members of the Municipal Council
• One citizen appointee (with a Chartered Accountant designation)

Concurrent with the term of the Municipal Council making the appointment.

Recommendations for appointment to the Audit Committee are made by the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee, or the Striking Committee, as the case may be, and are considered by the City Council.

Through local newspaper advertisements, the City of London website and postings at local library branches, qualified citizens are invited to apply for appointment as the citizen appointee.

The Chair and Vice-Chair are elected by the Committee from among its voting members.

Same qualifications as for the members of the Municipal Council. The citizen appointee shall have the designation of a Chartered Accountant.

At least quarterly each year, and at such other times as shall be required and determined by the Chair.

No remuneration is paid to the Committee members.

The Committee of Management will be composed of five (5) appointed members of Municipal Council.

The term of office of a Council member who becomes a member of the Committee of Management is four years, beginning on November 15 in the year of a regular Municipal Council election. 

The City Clerk, or written designate, shall convene a meeting of the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee, as soon as possible after the Inaugural Council meeting, with respect to the appointment of Council Members to the Committee of Management. In advance of the above-noted Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee meeting, the City Clerk, or written designate, shall provide incoming Council Members with a communication briefly describing the mandate of the Committee of Management to which Council Members are to be appointed, and shall provide a document on which each Council Member is to indicate their committee, board and commission preferences. The latter document shall be returned to the City Clerk, or written designate, by a specified date, in order to form part of the agenda for the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee meeting. Appointments to the Committee of Management shall be in keeping with the process approved by the Municipal Council.

No person who has been convicted of certain offences or found guilty of an act of professional misconduct as set out in the Fixing Long-Term Care Act may be a member of the Committee of Management (see Appendix “A”, attached to this Schedule).

Before any person is permitted to be a member of the Committee of Management, they must satisfy screening measures as required by section 256 of the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, and must provide the City Clerk, or written designate, with a criminal record check in accordance with the Act, as well as a signed declaration disclosing the prescribed offences or professional misconduct set out in the Act or Regulation (for instance, see s. 255 of O.Reg. 246/22).

Where a member resigns from the Committee or their council seat becomes vacant under the Municipal Act, 2001 or they fail the screening measures under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, their seat shall be considered to be vacant. 

The City Clerk, or written designate, shall canvass the Council Members to determine which Council Members would be interested in filling the vacancy. The names of the Council Members who have expressed an interest in filling the vacancy shall be placed on an agenda of the Committee of the Whole, at the earliest opportunity, for a nomination to be brought forward to Municipal Council for consideration.

Where a member is unable to act for a period exceeding three months, the Council may appoint one of its members as an alternate member to act in place of the member until the member is able to resume acting as a member.

The Committee of Management will meet a minimum of four times a year.

The first meeting will be called by the City Clerk, or written designate. Subsequent meetings shall be at the call of the Chair, in consultation with the Committee Clerk. All time frames established in the Fixing Long-Term Care Act and regulations shall be adhered to.

The Chair shall cause notice of the meetings, including the agenda for the meetings, to be provided to members of the Committee a minimum of three (3) business days prior to the date of each meeting. 

Quorum for meetings shall consist of a majority of the members of the Committee.

Minutes of each meeting shall outline the general deliberations and specific actions and recommendations that result.

The Committee members will select a Chair from amongst its members at its first meeting.

It is the duty of each member of the Committee of Management to ensure that The Corporation of the City of London (the “licensee”) complies with all requirements under the Fixing Long-term Care Act.

In fulfilling its duties, the Committee of Management may wish to receive reports from Civic Administration with respect to the administration of the Dearness Home and the fulfillment of the duties and obligations under the Fixing Long-term Care Act.

The Committee of Management may provide information reports to Municipal Council.

Under section 28 of the Fixing Long-term Care Act, each member of the Committee of Management who has reasonable grounds to suspect that any of the following has occurred or may occur shall immediately report the suspicion and the information upon which it is based to the Director (appointed by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care): 

• improper or incompetent treatment or care of a resident that resulted in harm or a risk of harm to the resident; 
• abuse of a resident by anyone or neglect of a resident by the licensee or staff that resulted in harm or a risk of harm to the resident; 
• unlawful conduct that resulted in harm or a risk of harm to a resident; 
• misuse or misappropriation of a resident’s money; 
• misuse or misappropriation of funding provided to a licensee under the Act or the Local Health System Integration Act, 2006, or the Connecting Care Act, 2019.

Pursuant to section 1 of the Fixing Long-term Care Act, the fundamental principle to be applied in the interpretation of the Act and anything required or permitted under the Act is that a long-term care home is primarily the home of its residents and is to be operated so that it is a place where they may live with dignity and in security, safety and comfort and have their physical, psychological, social, spiritual and cultural needs adequately met. 

The City Clerk, or written designate, will provide administrative support to the Committee of Management. The City Clerk, or written designate, shall carry out any duties to implement the Committee of Management’s decisions.

Members will not receive remuneration. 

Meetings of the Committee shall be covered by the Council Procedure By-law, and applicable legislation.

The City’s web site will be used to communicate the meeting notices and agendas.

Adopted: December 1, 2010, By-law No. A.-6582-255. A by-law to establish a Committee of Management for the Dearness Home in accordance with section 132 of the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007.

Amended: October 27, 2020, By-law No. A.-6582(a)-220. A by-law to amend By-law A.-6582-255 being “A by-law to establish a Committee of Management for the Dearness Home in accordance with section 132 of the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007” by removing the requirement for a minimum of one meeting a year to be held at the Dearness Home due to health and safety concerns. (2.4/17/SPPC)

Amended: September 27, 2022, By-law No. A.-6582(b)-253. A By-law to amend By-law A.-6582-255 being a by-law to establish a Committee of Management for the Dearness Home and to update the Terms of Reference.