Ford's Proposal: Appointed Regional Chairs with Strong Powers

0:00It's April 2nd. From your city to your ears, this is Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cori with the story. Ontario premier Doug Ford's government just dropped a big proposal to shake up regional councils. They'd appoint chairs directly in eight regions, including Waterloo, and hand them strong powers similar to strong mayor rules. That means a chair could pass motions with just one-third support from council, bypassing the usual majority vote. This builds on past changes, targeting places like Durham, Halton, Muscoca, Niagara, Peel, York, and Waterloo, plus awarding in Simcoe County. Right now in Waterloo folks elect their chair by popular vote, but this would let the minister of municipal affairs in housing pick the person. Instead, local leaders are speaking out. Kitchener's mayor stresses his commitment to strong local rep, while Waterloo's mayor prefers electing chairs over appointments. Experts call it a huge power grab that skips democratic norms since you couldn't vote out an appointed chair like you can a mayor.

1:04Waterloo's current chair, Karen Redman, who's been elected twice, put out a statement staying focused on housing, transit, and services. She welcomes working with the province, but highlights her local roots. As this legislation brews, opponents are urged to hit up their MPPs. We'll see how it plays out, but has got folks rethinking local control in these key areas.