Niagara Centre MPP blasts Ford’s Toronto-Ottawa ‘strong mayor’ plan

Niagara | Welland | Politics |

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Published July 20, 2022 at 4:28 pm

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch, also the NDP's Municipal Affairs Critic, called Ford's bid to give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa "strong mayor' power a baffling move.

Niagara Centre MPP Jeff Burch is comfortably back in his role as Municipal Affairs Critic and it didn’t take Premier Doug Ford long to hand him something new to criticize.

Ford’s cabinet is looking into an American-style system that would boost the power of the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto over their colleagues.

Called the “strong mayor” system, Ford told reporters today (July 20) that he thinks “the mayor of Toronto or Ottawa, or any mayor, they’re accountable for everything but they have the same single vote as a single councillor.”

The “strong mayor” system can allow mayors to oversee budgets and control department head appointments, as well as giving them veto power.

Burch called the move is “baffling.”

“Why did Premier Doug Ford keep his Strong Mayor plan secret throughout the campaign?” asked Burch. “Why won’t he consult municipalities or the people they represent?”

He added, “It’s baffling that Ford is focused on giving two mayors more power, instead of working on giving municipalities support that would actually help people – like better funding for housing, public health, long-term care and transit.”

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