Règlement 2-2026, in force since April 17, 2026, sets the rules for Ormstown council meetings: two public question periods at every ordinary meeting, a 3-hour limit on a meeting, and a suspensive veto for the mayor that council can lift.
Règlement 2-2026, the Règlement sur la régie interne et la procédure d'assemblée du conseil municipal, is adopted under article 491 of the Code municipal du Québec, which, the preamble says, allows council to adopt a bylaw to govern its meetings and the conduct of debates, to frame procedure, ensure meetings run properly and maintain order. The preamble adds that council wishes to update its bylaw on the internal rules of its meetings. The bylaw replaces and repeals any earlier municipal bylaw adopted on a similar matter, without naming one (art. 52).
Notice of motion was given at the ordinary meeting of January 19, 2026, and a draft bylaw was tabled at the ordinary meeting of February 2, 2026; a public notice of the draft was posted on February 12, 2026. The cover of the posted copy gives April 17, 2026 as the date of the public notice of adoption and of the bylaw's entry into force.
Article 3 says ordinary council meetings are usually held "le premier lundi mercredi de chaque mois" (the first Monday Wednesday of each month), except January's, to be held "le deuxième lundi mercredi de ce mois" (the second Monday Wednesday of that month). After a general election, the meeting is usually set for the second Monday after election day. If the day set for an ordinary meeting is a holiday, the meeting is usually held on the next juridical day.
Article 3 also says council fixes the annual calendar of ordinary meetings by resolution, and that ordinary meetings begin at the time council sets when it establishes that calendar. Meetings are public, and seats for the public are first come, first served; the room holds 45 people when it is set up for a council meeting with cameras, and 55 otherwise. Council meets in the council room at 5, rue Gale, and may set another place in Ormstown by resolution or public notice (art. 4).
The municipality's public notice of the 2026 calendar of ordinary meetings, dated December 16, 2025, says council adopted the calendar at its ordinary meeting of December 1, 2025. It lists twelve ordinary meetings from January 19 to December 7, 2026, all on Mondays, all at 6:30 p.m. at the town hall, 5, rue Gale.
On August 3, 2026, council modified that calendar for the rest of 2026 (resolution 26-08-224), stating that some of its provisions no longer conformed to Bylaw 2-2026, which came into force after the calendar was adopted. In the modified calendar, the September meeting is on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 (it was Monday, September 14); the other dates are unchanged. A public notice dated September 9, 2026 then moved the October meeting from Monday, October 5 to Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.
Every ordinary meeting includes two public question periods, each of up to 30 minutes, in which those present may ask oral questions of the chair or any other member of council (art. 33.1):
Each person may ask only one question on the same subject, and has up to 5 minutes to ask it and receive the answer. Once everyone who wants to ask a question has done so, a person may ask a new question while the 30 minutes have not run out (art. 35). Two-thirds of the council members present may extend a question period, and the chair may end it once all registered citizens have taken part (art. 34). Anyone who does not plan to attend may send a written question to the clerk by noon on the Friday before the ordinary meeting, by email to greffe@ormstown.ca, by mail, or by dropping it off at the town hall reception (art. 33.1). The chair answers written questions received on time first (art. 33.3). At an extraordinary meeting there is a single question period of up to 30 minutes, at the end, limited to subjects on that meeting's agenda; written questions are due by noon on the day of the meeting (art. 33.2).
Article 5 says all ordinary meetings are broadcast live on the municipality's YouTube channel and are available for later viewing for 5 years. Article 33.1 says ordinary meetings are recorded and broadcast on the municipality's website, that the recording remains available for a minimum of five years under article 149.1 of the Code municipal, and that anyone may therefore see the answers given, live or later.
Council meetings end 3 hours after the meeting begins. If not all agenda items have been dealt with by then, the meeting must resume at 6:30 p.m. on the next juridical day (the bylaw defines non-juridical days as holidays, Saturdays and Sundays), unless council decides by a two-thirds vote of the members present to adjourn or suspend for a shorter period. The meeting resumes where it was suspended. Council may also, at most twice per meeting and by a two-thirds vote of the members present, extend the meeting by an additional 30 minutes (art. 17).
Article 41.1 says that, in accordance with the Code municipal, the mayor may refuse to approve a council decision and exercise a suspensive veto. The veto must be served in writing on the clerk within 48 hours of the adoption of the resolution.
Council may lift the veto by re-adopting the resolution by an absolute majority of its members (art. 41.1).
The chair maintains order and decorum and may order the expulsion of anyone who disturbs the order and proper conduct of a meeting, including by using coarse, abusive, violent or hurtful language or defaming someone, shouting or heckling, making noise, speaking without permission, making a vulgar gesture, interrupting someone who has the floor, starting a debate with the public, or not keeping to the subject under discussion (art. 21). Article 21 says a council member must also behave this way, and that the chair's measures may include expelling a member of the public and even a member of council, in accordance with article 159 of the Code municipal.
Every member present at a council meeting must vote, under penalty of a $100 fine, unless exempt or prevented because of an interest in the question, in accordance with the Loi sur les élections et les référendums dans les municipalités (art. 42).
Ordinary meetings are public, with two question periods of up to 30 minutes each (art. 3, 33.1). The 2026 calendar notice sets the meetings on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at the town hall, 5, rue Gale. A written question can be sent to greffe@ormstown.ca, by mail or at the town hall reception by noon on the Friday before an ordinary meeting (art. 33.1).
📞 450 829-2625 · ✉️ ormstown@ormstown.ca · 🏛️ 5, rue Gale, Ormstown