The Ford government plans to give the heads of another 169 municipalities "strong mayor powers" starting next month, saying they will help these communities "deliver on provincial priorities," such as building homes.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing made the announcement via press release on Wednesday, just days before the legislature is set to resume next week.
The government said the powers, being proposed for heads of council of certain single- and lower-tier municipalities with councils including six or more members, would enable the communities to "support shared provincial-municipal priorities, such as encouraging the approval of new housing and constructing and maintaining infrastructure to support housing, including roads and transit."
"Heads of Council are key partners in our efforts to build homes and infrastructure across the province,” Rob Flack, the newly-appointed minister of municipal affairs and housing, said in a statement.
"By extending strong mayor powers to these additional municipalities, we are providing mayors every tool at our disposal to empower them to get homes and infrastructure built faster. Mayors know their municipalities best, and we support them in taking bold actions for their communities," he said.
The new powers give mayors the ability to create council committees and appoint their heads, propose and veto certain municipal by-laws, propose a budget with the ability to veto council amendments (there is a council override process), appoint senior civil servants such as the chief administrative officer and hire certain department heads.
The Ford government has already extended the powers to 47 municipalities. Toronto and Ottawa were the first two cities to be given strong mayor powers in November 2022.
The new list of 169 includes Collingwood, Kenora, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Parry Sound, Timmins, Wilmot and Orillia. They would be added through a regulatory amendment under the Municipal Act. The provincial government is accepting feedback on its proposal for one week.
Orillia currently has temporary strong mayor powers. The province granted Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac these powers temporarily on April 3 to help the city during the state of emergency declared due to the recent ice storm.
The move has been controversial in recent days. On Monday, McIsaac used the strong mayor powers to rescind the appointment of Trevor Lee as Orillia's new chief administrative (CAO) and instead appoint the city's current deputy CAO/solicitor, Amanpreet Singh Sidhu, as the new CAO, as reported by OrilliaMatters.
The city had issued a news release on March 21 announcing the appointment of Lee, whose time as deputy CAO of corporate services in Guelph is set to end on Friday.
“On behalf of council, I am pleased to welcome Trevor Lee to the City of Orillia,” McIsaac said in a statement at the time. “Mr. Lee’s experience and leadership will help guide the corporation as we continue to advance council’s strategic priorities and deliver services that enhance the quality of life for our residents. We look forward to working with Mr. Lee to build on Orillia’s successes and plan for the future.”
Following the reversal, McIsaac said in an information package released before a council meeting Monday that Sidhu has "shown exceptional leadership throughout his time with the corporation and brings a deep understanding of both our internal operations and the community we serve. He has led with a steady hand and has demonstrated the level of clarity, collaboration, and resilience we need moving forward."
In response, four councillors signed a letter to the mayor and Minister Flack, saying they "strongly oppose Mayor McIsaac’s request for 'strong mayor powers,' and his decision to use those powers to subvert and reverse the decision of council to hire Mr. Trevor Lee as CAO of the City of Orillia."
They also requested that the province "immediately" rescind the strong mayor powers granted to Orillia.
Lee recently told GuelphToday in an email that he is "still somewhat bewildered" by the sudden change in his appointment.
“My spouse and I had already made plans for a relocate to the Orillia area, including advising family, friends and colleagues of my career move and listing our house for sale,” Lee wrote.
Orillia's mayor's powers were set to remain in force until June 30 but the government said on Wednesday that they will become permanent as of May 1.
On Wednesday, Robin Jones, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the mayor of Westport, lauded the province's move to expand the use of strong mayor powers to additional municipalities.
"Strong mayor powers can provide an additional tool to help municipalities play their important role in getting houses built. As the most trusted order of government, municipalities can be counted on to exercise new powers accountably and in the best interests of the public and the communities they serve," Jones said.
-With files from OrilliaMatters and GuelphToday
