On Monday, June 9, AMCTO Executive Director, David Arbuckle, President Paul Shipway, Vice President Danielle Manton, Past President Stephen O’Brien, and AMCTO policy and government relations staff met with Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Robert Flack, and Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie. This was the first opportunity to meet with the minister since his appointment in March.
In addition to the meeting, we were pleased that Minister Flack attended our 2025 AMCTO Conference, providing opening remarks to delegates.
Together we discussed:
- AMCTO's willingness to collaborate on updates to the Municipal Elections Act and the need for the Act to be modernized before the 2030 elections.
- Continuous improvements to accountability and transparency frameworks, including within Bill 9, Municipal Accountability Act, 2025, especially with respect to municipal staff protections.
Support at the cabinet table for modernization of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). - Workplace culture, recruitment, and retention challenges resulting from the expansion and implementation of strong mayor powers.
Our conversation was productive and the minister was open to collaboration. Some takeaways from the conversation:
- On strong mayors, we asked for clarification of the recent announcement (see below) on strong mayors within the Red Tape Reduction Package. The minister communicated that while strong mayor powers are here to stay, he wants to listen and learn and have constructive conversations on areas of improvement.
- The minister recognized that updates to the Municipal Elections Act would need to come after the 2026 cycle and expressed his willingness to work towards modernizing the Act to make it more responsive and streamlined for voters, candidates and administrators.
- On the proposed Bill 9, Municipal Accountability Act, we plan to attend Standing Committee hearings, which the minister also encouraged, and expressed willingness to receive feedback.
Strong Mayor Announcement in Red Tape Reduction Package
With respect to strong mayor powers, the Government introduced Bill 46, Protect Ontario by Cutting Red Tape Act, 2025 — the annual red tape reduction bill on June 4, 2025.
In the backgrounder, the Government signaled that it is “exploring changes in response to the most recent expansion of the strong mayor framework" that saw an additional 170 municipalities given the powers.
At the time of the announcement, we clarified with the ministry that there were no immediate legislative or regulatory changes to the framework. However, we understood that the package presents an opportunity to provide feedback to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing about the strong mayor powers in their communities to inform any future action. That was confirmed by the minister during our meeting.
Next Steps
Our team has already been compiling a new list of implementation questions and other comments for the ministry related to our opposition of the powers and concerns as they apply to municipal staff (including the chief administrative officer), just as we had back in 2023.
As an Association, we continue to advocate for the municipal profession and continue making progress on our Issue Profile on behalf of members. We were pleased to have this opportunity to speak with the minister. We will continue to engage the ministry and broader provincial Government over the coming months including at the 2025 AMO Conference where we have made delegations requests.
For more information or questions, please contact our policy and advocacy team and subscribe to our policy blog for the latest policy updates.