Less than 100 days before residents head to the polls to elect a new mayor and councillors, the prime minister said he plans to give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa “veto” powers over proposals put forward by their respective councils. Ford says his reforms would allow the mayors of Ontario’s two largest cities to veto any council decision, with a second measure allowing the council to override the mayor’s veto if two-thirds of councilors agree . “I just think the mayor of Toronto or Ottawa, or any mayor, is responsible for everything, but they have the same vote as a single councillor,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park. “We’ll get into the details later…we’ll do the trial.” Coun. Catherine McKenney, one of 10 candidates running for mayor, says cities need their own powers, but not the mayor. “I see it overall as an undemocratic move. Certainly, we need to empower the people, not put all the power in the hands of one person on the council,” McKenney told CTV News Ottawa on Wednesday. “Removing legitimate concerns that residents will sometimes have is not the way we want to go about building our cities.” Mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe says new “veto” powers for the mayor are not something that would help Ottawa residents. “My goal in running for mayor was to bring a fresh perspective to city hall and work with councillors, democratically elected councillors, build consensus, work together, do things to make Ottawa safe, reliable and economically affordable. ,” Sutcliffe said on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron. “I don’t need any extra powers to do that, if I’m elected mayor I’m happy to work with the system we have at the moment.” Sutcliffe says municipal governments need to see what the actual legislation from the Ontario government says, but he doesn’t think they need to if elected. “I’m ready to work with all these people to get things done for the city, whether it’s affordable housing or keeping taxes as low as possible, keeping recreation fees down, fixing public transit — bringing a new perspective on this file.” Sutcliffe said. “I’m prepared to do that under the current system and I don’t need the mayor’s office to have additional powers to do that.” Mayoral candidate Bob Chiarelli says he’s trying to work by consensus, but the new powers may help resolve the impasse at the council table. “It’s a tool that will be available,” Chiarelli said Wednesday. “I would be all for it. If we’re deadlocked on the council, then the mayor’s power can be used to break a tie or break a disagreement, and it could be used very responsibly.” McKenney says Ottawa’s mayor doesn’t need so-called “strong mayor” powers, but cities need to be stronger. “Cities need to have more power in terms of self-determination,” McKenney said. “We are creatures of the country today; but this system was established when most people lived outside cities, today the vast majority of people live in cities, and not having more democratic and governmental powers really as a city does not do much. sense.”
TODAY’S COUNCILORS ARE OPPOSED TO THE POWER-MAYOR PLAN
Three sitting councilors are against proposed new “veto powers” for Ottawa’s mayor. Coun. Riley Brockington says he was blindsided by news of the proposed new powers for the mayor. “There’s been no discussion of that that I know of in Ottawa, certainly not from city council. It’s not really anything that’s been on our radar screen,” Brockington said. “I guess the main question I have is, what is the problem that we’re trying to solve here?” Brockington says we live in a democracy and all different voices are heard at the council table. “Everybody has a fair and equal time to have their say and the most important thing – the most important thing here is that everybody has an equal vote.” Coun. Eli El-Chantiry says the proposal would take power away from councillors, especially in a city the size of Ottawa where there are big differences of opinion. “You’re taking away some of the people’s rights by doing this,” El-Chandiri said. Coun. Laura Dudas, who is the current deputy mayor, told Newstalk 580 CFRA that there is no problem with our current system. “I don’t understand what the problem is that the prime minister is trying to solve,” Dudas said. “Democracy is not a straight line, it is a zigzag and it takes time and it can be messy. “We have to make sure we work as a team and it doesn’t help anyone to have just one voice at the helm doing whatever they choose to do.” With files from The Canadian Press
