An animated debate has been set in motion over the Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to give more powers to Mayors of Toronto and Ottawa.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford had announced last week that his Government was moving to vest strong mayor powers to municipalities other than Toronto and Ottawa as a way to get more houses built.

Ontario is facing an acute shortage of housing. The house prices have touched an all time high. At places, they have tripled in less than 10 years.

The new legislation has also thrown up demand for building new cities in periphery of the big cities of the province to solve the housing problem.

Ontario’s Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark has already introduced the legislation in the Provincial Assembly. This legislation would give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa veto powers over bylaws that conflict with provincial priorities, such as building housing.

“The reality is over one-third of the growth over the next decade will come in the cities of Toronto and Ottawa,” Clark said at a news conference.

Speaking at the Association of Municipalities Ontario annual conference in Ottawa, Ford said the legislation will provide those mayors with additional tools to advance those provincial priorities.

“Building more homes is at the top of the list,” he said. “In the coming months, we’ll have more information on how these tools will be expanded to other municipalities so more municipal leaders like yourselves can help build Ontario.”

The legislation would allow the mayors to override council approval of a bylaw, such as a zoning bylaw, that would hamper a set of provincial priorities that will be set out later in regulations.

Examples of priorities that government officials gave include the goal of building 1.5 million homes in 10 years and building critical infrastructure.

A council could override the mayor’s veto with a two-thirds majority vote.

The legislation would also give the mayors the responsibility for preparing and tabling their city’s budget, instead of council, appointing a chief administrative officer, and hiring and firing department heads, except for statutory appointments such as an auditor general, police chief or fire chief.

The Ontario Premier supporters  argue that the City of Toronto is the fourth or fifth largest government in Canada by budget and population, and is more than capable of self-government.”

The mayors of Toronto and Ottawa will have the option to veto city council motions as part of the expanded authorities granted to them through the province’s plan to introduce “strong mayor” powers in those cities, Premier Doug Ford was quoted by media..

Ford said that the mayors are “responsible for everything, but they have the same single vote as a single councillor.” A veto power would allow those mayors to “make the appropriate changes,” he continued.

The tabling of legislation has evoked mixed reactions. Those opposing it say that as of now the Mayor enjoys voting powers equal to a Councillor. Vesting in him the veto power, they argue, would mean the rest of the Council only sings a chorus with Mayor playing the Master.

Others, who support the legislation, argue in favour of giving Mayors powers over and above a Councillor.

Toronto Mayor John Tory supports the move, though the current, outgoing mayor of Ottawa does not. Interestingly neither of the two contenders to replace him also do not support the new legislation.

The Ontario Real Estate Association while welcoming the move said  the strong mayor legislation was a “good step. It wanted  it to be  expanded beyond Toronto and Ottawa.

“More can still be done to address the existing housing affordability crisis, including ending exclusionary zoning in Ontario’s highest-demand urban neighbourhoods, which would allow for the building of duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes on lots traditionally zoned for single-family housing,” CEO Tim Hudak wrote in a statement.

Outgoing Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson does not want his successor to use the so-called ‘strong mayor’ powers proposed by the provincial government. This move  would marginalize councillors, he says.

Interestingly, the mayors of other large cities have expressed interest in veto powers as proposed by the Ford government.

Last week the Smart Prosperity Institute, a University of Ottawa-based think tank, released its report highlighting the housing needs of the Peel Region. It says the needs of the Peel region  in the next 10 years will be higher than all other areas.

Peel region  comprises Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon/ The report says that Peel region  will need 277,000 housing units, with Toronto needing 259,000, and York Region needing 180,100.

The report concluded that Ontario will indeed need 1.5 million more homes over the next 10 years.

Both NDP and Green Party have been critical of the Conservative government move of empowering two Mayors.

The NDP and Greens said it amounts to Ford interfering in municipal politics right before the October municipal elections.

“Doug Ford’s second term as Premier begins the same way as the first — with yet another attack on local democracy and the people of Toronto and Ottawa,” Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said in a statement. In support of his argument , he referred to the 2018 move of Doug Ford by which  the size of the Toronto council was cut.

“This time it comes disguised as a strategy to solve the province’s housing crisis.”

Interim NDP Leader Peter Tabuns has criticized the strong mayor proposal.

“When it comes to housing and other priorities, it misses the target by a country mile,” he said. “It won’t build a single home. It won’t solve the infrastructure deficit you all are facing. It won’t fund your transit systems and it won’t fund your public health units, says Peter Tabuns.”

Prabhjot Singh

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