While 'strong mayor' powers haven't formally arrived in Halton Hills yet, the hot topic is already causing sparks to fly at Town Hall.
Premier Doug Ford announced last week that he will be extending the additional powers for the head of council to Halton Hills, with a deadline for Mayor Ann Lawlor to opt in this fall.
During Monday's (Aug. 28) council meeting, Ward 4 Councillor D’Arcy Keene attempted to bring forth the major change in governance as an emergency item for discussion. Lawlor denied the request as she said it was not time-sensitive, prompting a testy exchange.
“Is that your commitment, that we will not be signing any pledges or adopting any strong mayor powers until council has had a chance to discuss it?” Keene asked Lawlor.
The mayor responded: “I have to get direction from the Province, which I have not received yet.”
The deadline to opt into the new powers is Oct. 15, at which time mayors in Ontario will have to sign a pledge committing to the Province’s housing targets.
The powers are, in the Province’s view, a way to fast-track the building of homes. Ford expects Halton Hills to commit to building 9,500 homes.
Lawlor said that she does not “have any clarification on the process right now.”
“As soon as that process is provided to us, that will absolutely be public information, and council will have that information and will proceed as directed by the Province,” Lawlor explained.
“You're prepared to sign these documents without coming to council first,” Keene asserted in response.
Lawlor reiterated: “I will follow the provincial direction, which is what I must do.”
Keene said he doubts the “Province is going to force you to sign before we’ve had a council meeting. So will you pledge not to sign a pledge or to adopt strong mayor powers until council has had a chance to have open, public democratic discussions about this?”
“I can't give you an answer to that because I do not have any instructions from the Province,” Lawlor said.
The new municipal tools have been unpopular among various members of council. During a discussion about a report detailing the state of housing in Halton Region, Councillor Joseph Racinsky called Ford’s policy “entirely undemocratic.” He encouraged the public to research the “sweeping” powers.
“I just hope that these powers will not be used in this term and that we can move towards the target in a democratic and collaborative way,” Racinsky said.
Councillor Clark Somerville concurred with his colleague's points.
