TORONTO – The mayor? Better if he’s a “sheriff”, according to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who is considering new legislation that would give to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa new powers and a potential veto on the city council, according to reports earlier by the Toronto Star and then from Global News. The Ford government is therefore working on legislation that should grant greater powers to mayors, as well as allow them to address the issue of housing accessibility with more room for maneuver. 

The law, which will probably be presented within weeks at a summer session of the Ontario government, would provide – according to a confidential source of Global News – to give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa “strong powers”. In Ontario’s current municipal system, the mayor has only one vote in the council and needs a majority of the councilors to support motions, reports or projects. The new provincial legislation on the one hand greatly increases the power of mayors and on the other one would diminish the role of individual municipal councilors, also because – as said – the new powers would also include a mayor’s veto on the council. According to another source, however, formal government formalities have not yet taken place on the issue and the scope of the law is in the “perfecting” phase.

This morning, Toronto Mayor John Tory commented on the news, essentially agreeing with the attribution of “strong powers” to the mayor. “I understand that it is something that the Province is exploring to build more houses as quickly as possible”, he said, specifying that “as mayor I am absolutely determined but to build more housing, in it from the powers that I have. At the end of the day, whatever happens, my job remains the same, which is to work with the city council and every elected official who wants to work with me to do things for the people of Toronto”.

The potential upheaval at Toronto and Ottawa city halls mirrors a controversial move Ford made in 2018, when he halved the size of Toronto’s city council before the final round of local elections. In 2018, the campaign was well underway when the Ontario legislature passed a law that reduced the number of seats on the Toronto City Council from 47 to 25. Ford – who served as Toronto City Councilor and candidate for mayor, then just beaten by Tory in 2014 – argued at the time that the change could streamline the board’s operations and save $ 25 million.

With this novelty, Ford could be re-involved in how the government operates on Toronto City Hall.

The first reactions of municipal councilors are already being recorded, such as that of Gord Perks: “The premier of Ontario thinks that the people of Toronto are incapable of governing themselves”.

As well known, voters from all over Ontario will go to the polls on October 24 to vote in municipal elections for mayors and city councilors.

 Pic from Doug Ford’s Twitter profile