Former Guelph councillor James Gordon weighs in on strong mayors powers coming to Guelph.
The last motion I presented as a Guelph city councillor before retiring was this past Sept. 14th. It was meant to provide an official statement to the province denouncing Doug Ford’s mean-spirited and self-serving Strong Mayor initiative. The motion passed unanimously. In my remarks that evening, I said that this legislation was the greatest threat to democracy that I had seen in my two terms on council.
Guelph’s plea to the province was just one of many expressed by municipalities across Ontario, but we see now that the voices raised then against Strong Mayor powers fell on deaf ears.
‘Strong mayor’, or more accurately ‘weakened council’ is coming to Guelph July 1st, and that threat to democracy is even greater now.
At that September meeting, Mayor Guthrie, in my view, was quite correct when he stated:
“It’s not a power I believe we need. City council has always been one of collaboration.” “To allege that a mayor knows everything about every single issue in every single corner of the city is completely unfounded. A strong mayor initiative depletes the value of a councillor.” Thank you for that Mr. Mayor!
According to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs:
“Strong mayor powers offer tools to help heads of council cut red tape and speed up the delivery of key shared municipal-provincial priorities such as housing, transit and infrastructure in their municipalities.”
‘Cutting red tape’ is a right-wing euphemism for bypassing existing planning regulations and ignoring the democratic process. There is a reason for our existing official plans: they regulate our environmental footprint; they help preserve our city’s identity, and our quality of life. Without those by-laws and policies, we will be over-run by sprawl, and there is nothing In this legislation that directly addresses ‘Affordable’ housing. The province seems to be promoting the ‘trickle down’ theory that was disproven a generation ago: that if more premium housing is available, those able to take advantage of those high-priced units will leave more affordable units behind for those with a lower income. It never works that way. Until the province enacts ‘inclusionary zoning’ there is zero incentive for developers to create below-market-rate housing. Instead, it means fast-tracking proposals from developers to maximize their own profits with market-value homes and condos.
This is not about housing. It’s about power.
Those ‘tools’ mentioned by the ministry include veto power over council decisions. Since the province is already making it easier for developers to appeal those decisions and win, there is little or no purpose for councils and planning departments anymore. Staff and elected officials can be sidelined, which seems to be the whole point of ‘strong mayors’. Councils, with a two-thirds majority, can over-rule a mayor’s veto, creating divisions and power struggles around the horseshoe. The process would be fairer and more collaborative if that veto power was not granted in the first place.
In the United States, where the ‘strong mayor’ concept originated, it was a way to sidestep progressive councils. Guelph has the most progressive council it’s had in years, yet with this legislation they could be rendered impotent.
This blatantly political plan also allows the mayor to hire and fire senior staff, which could be very dangerous. I have confidence that our own mayor would not exercise this power, but in the hands of a future mayor this could turn staff into a partisan support team for that mayor.
I have a wish that Mayor Guthrie will honour and abide by the wise words he shared on Sept 14 – when he accurately reflected the view of most of our citizens: that this has no place in our city.
The motion I brought forward was passed by the outgoing council. I call on our current council to renew that pledge to reject the strong mayor powers and return to shared, well-considered policy initiatives that are in the best interests of our community, not just the best interests of a few developers who are only looking out for themselves.
If we let this stand we abandon values that are of utmost importance to Guelphites, and we seriously erode the true grassroots democracy that is the foundation of our city council. The Ford Regime has hijacked municipal agendas.
Let’s return to looking for real solutions to our housing crisis and our climate crisis by acting locally, responsibly, without provincial meddling that is only designed to enrich the very few at the expense of the many. It is not enough to hope that these new powers are not used. It’s time to work towards the next provincial election to make sure that we elect a new government that would never attempt such a power grab. It is time to find leadership that cares for all its citizens, not just its wealthy supporters.
James Gordon
Guelph
