'Reeks of cronyism': Mixed response to provincial appointment of York Region chair

York Region councillors are expressing mixed reactions to the province's appointment of a long-serving former York Region police chief as their chairman.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra announced today he is appointing Eric Jolliffe as chair and CEO of York Region. Jolliffe will be stepping into the position to replace Wayne Emmerson, who vacated the role Nov. 29 after tendering his resignation to spend more time with family.

King Mayor Steve Pellegrini came out strongly against the move. He said Jolliffe is a Barrie resident with no intention to move to York Region — and the province is changing legislation so that residency is not required for the position.

“I’m outraged at the overreach to change legislation,” Pellegrini said. “It reeks of cronyism.”

For years, York Region’s chair was decided through a vote from members of council. However, the province stepped in to change that in 2022 to make it an appointment-based position. They appointed the previous chair, Emmerson, although council members did hold a vote also supporting Emmerson.

Born and raised in the region, the province said Jolliffe has decades of strong leadership, having service in police force dating back to 1981. He became police chief in 2010, before retiring in 2020.

“His decades of strong executive leadership, strategic management and focus on safety make him well-positioned to be the region’s next chair,” Calandra said in a news release. “I look forward to working together as we move forward on our shared priorities, including building homes and safer communities.”

But Pellegrini spoke out against having the position appointed. He also said he spoke to Jolliffe and was told the new chair is not going to relocate.

“We have a process,” he said. “That’s why I’m calling it overreaching. Why don’t they start appointing all regional members? Why stop there? Appoint your MPP, too? There’s elections, there’s a process. You don’t like the process, change the process.”

York Region’s bylaw currently lays out that a regional chair nominee must be a resident of York Region, or the owner or tenant of land in the region, or the spouse of such an owner or tenant.

Pellegrini also said though he respects Jolliffe as a police chief, he questioned putting a non-politician into the role.

"Police is a quasi-paramilitary organization. There's rank and file. That does not exist at York Regional council. You have 20 outspoken, duly elected people," Pellegrini said. "It takes skill and practice to manage and come up with the best decisions." 

NewmarketToday did not receive a reply to a request for comment from the ministry before the publication deadline.

Politicians have previously pushed for a direct election for the chair. Former Newmarket-Aurora Liberal MPP Chris Ballard introduced a private member’s bill for it. The bill passed in 2017 but was cancelled when the new Conservative government came into place in 2018.

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said he believes the chair should be directly elected by the people, but he has “a lot of respect” for Jolliffe.

“I know he knows York Region well. If Eric is appointed chair of York Region, he will have my support,” Taylor said. “I believe it is in the best interests of the residents of Newmarket and York Region for us all to work together and move forward critical projects that will benefit the region and the people of York Region.”

Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas also released a statement praising Jolliffe.

“Eric’s appointment by the Ontario government is a fantastic decision that I warmly welcome, as Eric is a proven public sector leader with a strong track record of making government services more responsive to the needs of community members,” Mrakas said. “I’ve known Eric for years through his time at York Regional Police, including 10 years as chief, and I have seen firsthand his commitment to consensus building, transparency, accountability, and financial integrity.”

Markham Regional Councillor Joe Li also criticized the move to appoint. He said last time it was associated with an upcoming regional governance review, but with the province stepping back on that, he does not understand why there is any need to appoint the chair.

“That was the excuse. But now, what’s the excuse?” He said. “My issue is the province is going to ignore our regional bylaw … I’m a longstanding member of the Ontario PC party and Conservative party. I’m just disgusted.”

“It’s all cooked up behind the scenes,” Li further said, adding the province did not communicate about the appointment directly ahead of time.

York Region faces questions about its future, with the province having putting regional governance under scrutiny, removing its planning authority earlier this year and previously considering dissolving it. While the province dialed back on the idea of dissolving regional governments in December 2023, talks have remained ongoing about downloading more services away from the Peel Region level.

Li said he hopes the government can communicate more about what it wants to do.

“Quite frankly, we have no clue what the provincial government is thinking,” Li said. “Don’t keep us in the dark. Share with us.”

Editor's Note, Dec. 3: The article was amended to correct that the private member's bill from Chris Ballard did pass, but was then cancelled. NewmarketToday apologizes for the error.