According to the Star, city leaders will soon be able to take councilors’ heads over budget and other decisions if needed, with new legislation that will change the City of Toronto Act, the City of Ottawa Act and the Municipal law of the province. . Within potentially a few weeks, John Tory and Jim Watson will have a new power that will be described as “American-style” and “strong”, apparently in the name of tackling the housing crisis both locally and in the province more generally. The idea is to help speed up and streamline the usual processes to build more homes faster. “The powers of the ‘strong mayor’ are something I have said I will support,” Tory wrote in a statement Wednesday morning. “I understand this is something the province is looking into in order to build more homes as quickly as possible. As Mayor, I am absolutely committed to building more homes — regardless of the powers I have as mayor.”
“Strong Mayor” powers are something I’ve said I’ll support – I talked about it before the last election. I understand this is something the province is looking into in order to build more homes as quickly as possible. pic.twitter.com/7uduOAuCM1 — John Tory (@TorontosMayor) July 20, 2022 Tory added that, for him, his job will remain the same regardless, and that he will continue to work with the city council and “any elected official who wants to work with me” to move things forward at TO As noted by the Star, the idea is one that provincial leaders like Ford have long championed, even before his tenure as premier. “I believe mayors across the province deserve stronger powers,” the now-premier wrote in 2016, two years before he unexpectedly cut the size of Toronto’s city council by nearly half. “A veto-in-charge, similar to the strong mayoral systems in New York and Chicago and Los Angeles”
