Northeastern Ontario municipalities vow not to use strong mayor powers given by province

Strong mayor powers were not an item on the agenda of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities conference this week, but it definitely came up in between sessions, according to Blind River Mayor Sally Hagman. 

"It comes up over the coffee table or during the evening meal," she said. 

"All of us are in a similar position. Thanks to the province for offering this, but we're good." 

On May 1, the province expanded the "strong mayor" powers to 169 municipalities, about 20 of them in the northeast. 

The Ford government says the expanded authority is meant to help deliver on provincial priorities, such as building more homes, transit and infrastructure. 

Strong mayors can unilaterally fire chief administrative officers and department heads, re-organize departments, propose municipal budgets and veto amendments and bylaws, among other things. 

But several northeastern municipalities are joining the list of Ontario cities and towns rejecting the policy, with some of them passing motions asking to be removed from the mayoral powers list altogether.

Concerns over democracy, role of local council

"You are as strong as your council and for that reason I won't be exercising my strong mayor powers," said Hagman. "A democratic vote of seven people appears to work." 

She says it's the kind of authority that could sow division within the council chambers and that councillors "would walk, depending on the circumstances."

The head of council in Cobalt also worries about what this could mean for the democratic process. 

"It's supposed to be one vote around the table for everybody," said Mayor Angela Adshead. 

"You give one person the power to veto anything, that's going to discourage people from running for council."

Adshead is also concerned with potential lawsuits, having had a career in human resources. 

"It's very easy to create a wrongful dismissal suit, which can cost a lot of money," she said. "The ratepayers are ultimately going to pay the price for that." 

The strong mayor powers do include an immunity clause, but Adshead isn't convinced that it will be enough to keep cases out of the courtroom. 

One mayor voices support for policy

Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis says he understands the concerns being expressed by his peers, but he could see how the expanded authority could come in handy to break gridlocks at the council table.

"I prefer to look at it from the perspective of what happens when it's in the right hands, as opposed to what happens if it's in the wrong hands," he said. 

"Any mayor would have to be very, very cautious on how they exercise this kind of authority." 

Politis says strong mayor powers could help expedite projects, citing the recent organizational restructuring at the town. 

He says if he had this expanded authority then, the process would've taken a month instead of nine.

"There was a lot of unnecessary compromise," he said. 

Still, Politis says he doesn't see any circumstances that would warrant him using strong mayor powers in the near future.

Northern mayors who obtained 'strong' powers in 2023 have yet to use them

North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico says that, technically, he used his strong mayor power to delegate the authority back to the city's chief administrative officer. 

"Sometimes you have to do the exact opposite of what the legislation says within the legislation to make sure everybody is covered off," he said with a laugh. 

He says there hasn't been a single time in the past two years where he's thought about using strong mayor powers.

"We have a tremendous council that looks to make things happen in our city, and strong mayor powers could override what they're all trying to do," he said. 

"I don't want to make a decision of one… I want a decision of all eleven of us." 

Mayors in Greater Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie have also publicly stated they have no intention of using their expanded authority.