Orillia's mayor welcomes news that, as the head of council, he will be getting strong mayor powers permanently, but several members of council are "very upset" about the move.
On Wednesday, the province added 169 municipalities to the list of Ontario municipalities being granted strong mayor powers, including Orillia, effective May 1.
"We were on the list because we received temporary powers last week, that expire June 30, but now they will all be permanent," said Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac.
Orillia was granted strong mayor powers on April 3 to deal with the state of emergency after the ice storm left the entire city and surrounding area without hydro. McIsaac's first use of those powers was to effectively fire the CAO before he started, and appoint Orillia's deputy CAO to the position.
This move proved controversial. Four members of council signed a letter, which was passed by a motion of council, asking the minister of municipal affairs and housing, Robert Flack, to "immediately" rescind McIsaac's strong mayor powers, saying they are not wanted in Orillia.
However, McIsaac looks at the strong mayor powers as a "new tool" to get work done in the municipality.
"When we set priorities as council, housing was a critical priority, and this will help us accelerate that," McIsaac told OrilliaMatters on Thursday.
The provincial government set aside $1.2 billion for the Building Faster Fund. A small portion of funds was set aside for municipalities that didn't already have a housing target designated by the province, such as Orillia. So, that put the city in competition with 396 other municipalities for the small portion. There are 444 municipalities in Ontario.
Now, Orillia needs a housing target from the province so the city can access up to $16 million from the fund, said McIsaac.
"Council decided not to ask for the target because they were worried about strong mayor powers. Now we are the only city in Ontario with strong mayor powers without a housing target," McIsaac said.
He plans to approach the ministry to get a housing target, saying Orillia has already done a lot of work to ready itself for more home building.
"We need to accelerate housing wherever we can. Housing is still an issue in Orillia," he said.
When asked about research from the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario that shows homes are not built any faster in municipalities that have strong mayor powers versus those that don't, McIsaac said he doesn't think having extra powers will hurt.
"Anything we have that makes us more flexible or focused on getting more houses built is welcome news," he said.
If Orillia can get provincial funding, it will help the capital budget, he said.
"We have at least a $250-million shortfall (in the major capital forecast), so this will help bridge those shortfalls and help us with infrastructure. We need to use whatever we can to increase the supply of housing in the Orillia area," said the mayor.
Asked if he would limit the use of strong mayor powers to decisions around identified provincial priorities, McIsaac said, "My commitment to Orillians is to use whatever skills and powers I have in the best interest of the city, and that has not changed."
Coun. Jay Fallis, who was a signatory to the letter asking the province to rescind Orillia's strong mayor powers, is angry about the extension of permanent strong mayor powers to Orillia.
"I'm very upset. Our ability as councillors to effect change for the better in Orillia is completely compromised," he said.
Coun. Janet-Lynne Durnford, who also signed the letter, said strong mayor powers could dramatically change the way council and staff work.
"(The powers) fundamentally change how municipal councils operate. The legislation assigns the powers of the CAO to the head of council (HOC) and allows the HOC to determine the organizational structure of the city, hire and fire division heads, restructure committees, direct staff, and veto any bylaw that the HOC deems to be related to housing or housing infrastructure," Durnford said in an email to OrilliaMatters.
"All of this is despite any procedural bylaw. In my opinion — and in practice — (strong mayor powers) have the potential to destabilize municipal governments, as every four years a new HOC can remake the structure and staffing, and change the priorities and direction of the municipality."
Coun. David Campbell agreed.
"I do not support strong mayor powers. It is undemocratic. The people elect members of council to equally represent them. This completely undermines that and gives one person far too much control," he said in an email to OrilliaMatters.
"I also feel that, if this truly is all about building homes as the province claims, then any decision made by a mayor using these powers should have to be justified in that context."
Several councillors believe the new powers will not impact the housing supply.
"I honestly fail to see how this has anything to do with housing," said Campbell. "This implies that it is municipal councils that are getting in the way of housing being built and that is simply not the case."
"More funding from the province is needed, but not strong mayor powers," said Fallis.
Durnford added, "In my opinion, (strong mayor powers) will have almost no impact on housing starts, particularly in Orillia."
"Tying (strong mayor powers) to provincial housing priorities creates the impression that municipal councils are the primary impediment to housing starts and housing-supportive infrastructure. That's simply not true," she added. "The housing crisis is the result of a lot of factors, but decisions (by) municipal councils are certainly not the main problem."
Durnford said she believes Premier Doug Ford has had strong mayor powers in mind for a long time.
"In my opinion, Doug Ford has always planned to roll out (strong mayor powers) across the province. It's a fundamental change to municipal governance and the Municipal Act. Tying them to housing is an attempt to make the change more palatable," Durnford said.
Campbell said the move "drastically changes" the way councils will function, saying it shows the province "doesn't trust local councils to make decisions in the best interest of their communities."
He said it means "a mayor’s opinion is somehow more important than that of the rest of council.
"I have heard many mayors publicly state that they will not use these powers. I have also heard of some mayors delegating these new powers back to those that had (and should) have them," said Campbell. "In my opinion, these mayors are sending a message to their residents that they believe in democracy and have faith in those that they chose to represent them.
"It is a simple way to show respect for our system of municipal government, and I call on our mayor to show Orillians that same respect."
Background
The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Faster Act was passed in 2022 under Ford's previous term.
It started with Toronto and Ottawa gaining designation and then began expanding to other municipalities where the province provided new housing build targets.
Currently, there are 47 municipalities with strong mayor powers, including Barrie, Innisfil, Bradford West Gwillimbury and Orillia, which came into effect April 3.
The 169 added municipalities getting strong mayor powers take effect May 1.
Other Simcoe County and Muskoka municipalities to get strong mayor powers include:
- Township of Adjala-Tosorontio
- Town of Bracebridge
- Township of Clearview (Stayner, Creemore)
- Town of Collingwood
- Township of Georgian Bay
- Town of Gravenhurst
- Town of Huntsville
- Town of Midland
- Township of Muskoka Lakes
- Town of New Tecumseth (Alliston, Tottenham, Beeton)
- Township of Oro-Medonte
- Town of Parry Sound
- Town of Penetanguishene
- Township of Ramara
- Township of Seguin
- Township of Severn
- Township of Tay
- Town of Wasaga Beach
