Yesterday's announcement of the appointed upper-tier ‘strong chairs’ continues to raise questions about the neutrality of municipal governance. In our May submission to Government, we highlighted the concerning nature of ‘two-hatter’ appointments where an appointed chair could also serve as representative at an area municipality.
Appointees include:
- Kevin Ashe, Durham Regional Chair – current and re-elected mayor of Pickering
- Ann Mulvale, Halton Regional Chair – former mayor of Oakville, former AMO president and consultant
- Frank Campion, Niagara Regional Chair – outgoing mayor of Welland
- Nando Iannicca, Peel Regional Chair – current Peel Regional Chair and former Regional Councillor
- Scott Davey, Waterloo Regional Chair – current and re-elected councillor of Kitchener
- Steven Del Duca, York Regional Chair – current and re-elected mayor of Vaughan
- Scott Aitchison, Muskoka District Chair – former MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka and former mayor of Huntsville
- Don McIsaac, Simcoe County Chair – outgoing mayor of Orillia
In the announcement, the Government noted that appointees who are also lower-tier mayors will hold one seat (as chair) on regional council, and the municipality must appoint another representative for regional council. The mayor would continue to serve as mayor on the lower-tier council and fulfill the duties of both roles.
There is no word yet as to whether these chairs will receive mandate letters, like those received by Cabinet ministers, which would set out provincial expectation and direction. In Ontario, Cabinet mandate letters have not been shared since 2018.
We remain concerned about the expansion of strong mayor powers to upper-tier chairs, and the impact this will have on municipal staff and good municipal governance. For affected members and municipal staff, we remain committed to support you as you navigate these changes. We continue to offer information within our strong mayor shared resource centre, including regular drop-in meetings to discuss and help you work through implementation. As you develop your own policies and processes, we encourage you to share those with us to upload to the centre. For details on how to access, please complete our intake form below.
For more information or questions, please contact our policy and government relations team.