The council of the Township of Champlain adopted an electronic signature policy allowing for municipal documents to be digitally signed.

According to the policy, E-Signatures have the same legal value as handwritten signatures. For now, electronic signatures will only be used for the signing of municipal bylaws and minutes of council, but the policy was formulated to allow for the expansion of e-signatures’ use towards contracts and internal documents depending on the needs of the municipality according the Champlain’s clerks’ office.

The Township is currently testing a software platform with the company Notarius to provide technological standards for reliable digital signatures. The platform is currently in use by the United counties of Prescott and Russell.

According to the report published alongside the policy, E-Signatures are adopted to facilitate and expedite workflow, and improve customer service.

E-Signatures cannot be used for wills, codicils, trusts created by codicils, powers of attorney, negotiable instruments, documents of title, commissioned documents and any forms submitted with the Municipal Elections Act.