The Toronto Star reported late Tuesday that Ford is considering giving stronger powers to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa as part of a push to build more new housing in those cities. “The powers of the ‘strong mayor’ are something I have said I will support – I spoke before the last election,” Tory said in a statement on Wednesday morning. “I understand this is something the province is looking into in order to build more homes as quickly as possible.” The details of exactly what these additional powers would entail remain unclear. Currently, the mayor’s vote is the same as that of a councillor. Ford did not talk about introducing a strong mayoral system during Ontario’s election campaign this summer, and such a move would add a new level of complexity to the mayoral race in the upcoming fall municipal elections. Nor has the Ford government moved to amend the Municipal Elections Act to address other issues, including a loophole reported by CBC News that allows lobbyists to pay people to campaign for councilors without their knowledge. During the current term, Tory has controlled the balance of power on the city council, which has allowed him to pass most of the policies he supports. On Tuesday, Parkdale Coun. Gord Perks asked for any information on Ford’s plan that city or mayoral staff may need to bring to the city council for discussion. This week’s meeting is the last council meeting before the municipal elections in October. “I think it would be inappropriate to end our term without having the opportunity to discuss a potentially very, very important change in the way the city of Toronto is governed,” Perks said. The City Council meeting begins Wednesday at 9:30 am
