By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Bill 3, otherwise known as the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act was passed by the province on September 8. In its current form, it gives ‘strong mayor’ powers to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, with Premier Ford indicating it would likely extend to other municipalities in Ontario.
Haldimand received a letter from Kingsville requesting they join them in opposing the bill. Cathy Case, General Manager of Corporate and Social Services, said, “The staff recommendation is to support the town of Kingsville’s resolution based on a number of factors.… The legislation basically limits the influence and authority of ward councillors, and it places executive powers on the head of Council individually to make decisions regarding financial matters and budgets, bylaw passing, organizational structure, and the hiring of and dismissing of key administrative positions within the County.”
She continued, “We think it has a negative impact on public transparency and the collective and collaborative approach that we’ve always taken in municipal government with respect to the mayor and council working together to make decisions.… It may diminish the voice of individual councillors as a representative of their constituents.”
Haldimand’s councillors largely echoed that recommendation. Ward 1 Councillor Stewart Patterson did not mince words, stating, “The Provincial government is trying to sell this as, ‘We’re going to build 1.5 million more homes in the next 10 years.’ We already have processes and the ability to do that. We don’t need some smoke and mirrors thing to convolute the whole process…. It’s got to do with control and a lack of control for a democratic council. I think the whole Bill 3 is a bit of a disgrace, and it’s really a false front.”
Ward 3 Councillor Dan Lawrence added, “This bill kind of circumvents democracy. Around this table we pride ourselves on everybody having equal voices. Although they’re saying it’s not coming in the near future to Haldimand County, you never can trust what’s going on in Queen’s Park right now; it seems to change moment to moment for more control and power.”
Retiring Ward 6 Councillor Bernie Corbett said, “This is a US system, where once you’re in (as mayor) you can bring in your own staff, shuffle around the other people. I really dislike that.… It’s bad.”
He added, “We follow a planning process that we have to go through, and it’s subject to appeal…. When it comes to subdivisions, we know they can pass legislation that would incorporate affordable housing. They haven’t done that; they haven’t addressed that. They’re throwing it on the municipality and saying the mayor can make that choice. That’s not democracy – it’s something I disdain.”
Haldimand’s incoming mayor Shelley Ann Bentley agreed with the County recommendation as well, noting, “I do not believe that mayors should hold this type of power. We have a council that can make decisions based on what the constituents are requesting. No mayor should have the power to override the decision of the councillors.”
Ward 5 Councillor Rob Shirton questioned if the legislation would even make its way to Haldimand: “We might be a little bit ahead of ourselves.”
While it has been reported that the “strong mayor” powers would only be applied in municipalities with over 100,000 residents, Haldimand staff report “uncertainty” over whether the bill could eventually impact Haldimand Council.
“There’s not any set criteria that’s been published for us to be able to feel ensured. What this legislation has done is given delegated authority to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to select the municipalities it applies to,” said Case.
Outgoing Mayor Ken Hewitt stated, “I really don’t think it’s going to find its way here to Haldimand. The spirit and the intent behind that is mostly for those larger municipalities, where in fairness, the mayor … has 56, or 45, or 30 members around the council table who are representing a specific ward. We know with those wards within those big cities, the differences from one side of the city to the other are quite dramatic…. Trying to get decisions made becomes a challenge.”
He continued, “I see the intent and purpose behind what the Premier and the Province is trying to do … but I don’t see it applying here, where we’re in an environment where we have worked well together. We don’t need a strong mayor in Haldimand County because we do have collaboration around this table.”
