Alex Nuttall is unsure if he will need new so-called strong mayor powers granted to Barrie by the province today.
But Barrie’s mayor doesn’t disagree with expanding the powers to the mayors of this city, and 25 other larger Ontario municipalities, committed to a housing pledge as part of a provincial goal to build 1.5 million homes by 2031.
The powers granted to these mayors, as of July 1, include a veto on council decisions conflicting with provincial priorities such as housing, transit and infrastructure — although a two-thirds majority of council can override the mayor’s veto.
Reached for comment on Friday, Nuttall was asked by BarrieToday if he’s satisfied with the checks and balances contained in the strong mayor powers.
“For me, I want to see us continue to govern as council where we’re working together,” he said. “It’s not that combative idea, where we’re having to dip into that type of use, but obviously in terms of council having the final say, in terms of two-thirds you have to respect that and I certainly respect the changes that the province has made and that council will adopt.”
Geoffrey Booth, political science teacher at Georgian College’s Orillia campus, says he is of two minds on the subject of strong mayors.
“At a macro level, it's about deciding which should take precedence — democratic accountability or bureaucratic efficiency, both of which are desirable outcomes for government,” he said. “The former depends upon developing consensus among a majority of elected representatives, often an exercise in patience and compromise, whereas the latter, as they say, ‘gets things done’ in a timelier fashion.
“Strong mayor powers permit a minority, led by the mayor, to behave as if it were a majority on council,” Booth added. “It can speed up the policy process, but runs counter to the fundamental principle of majority rule.”
Nuttall was also asked if he can see a situation where he is going to need strong mayor powers.
“I’m not going to hypothesize today, because I don’t know what the future holds, but you know, as we go forward it is focus on delivering on the things the province (wants us) to and that is to get housing built,” the mayor said. “Council has been unanimous in our approach that we need to work together to permit and to approve (new housing) and we hopefully have the private sector develop and build.
"I don’t know what the future holds, but certainly from where we stand now, I’m happy with the approach we’ve taken today," he added.
Nuttall said the province is working to get new housing approved and built, and extended additional powers to Ontario mayors to meet their thresholds.
Barrie city council pledged earlier this year to a target of 23,000 new homes built by 2031, in addition to what’s already planned.
The pledge is a requirement of Bill 23, the province’s More Homes Built Faster Act of 2022 and its goal of 1.5 million new homes by 2031.
Council’s pledge divides Barrie’s housing target into five areas, the largest being 19,180 units based on demographic trends, from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs forecast for allocation of growth for this city.
Collaborating with development industry partners is expected to yield 3,900 housing units, second and third suites another 1,800 units, the New Foundations program (on church, places-of-worship and institutional properties) 1,500 units and 1,400 units by re-examining existing development approvals. Which totals 27,780 new homes, well above the 23,000 target.
Nuttall was asked if he needed strong mayor powers to get this done.
“I think that everything we’ve accomplished to date I’m really happy with and, as we move forward, you know, I think that it’s steady as she goes — a collaborative, co-operative council and, you know, some of the strong mayor powers are legislative in context in the sense that there’s no choice, it is going to affect how we do business, and some of them are obviously a choice for the mayor when and how to execute," he said.
“So I think only time will tell on that front, but in terms of our goals, it’s to continue the collaborative, co-operative approach we’ve seen at council where almost every vote has been unanimous," Nuttall added.
BarrieToday has also asked all members of council, by email, the same questions as Nuttall.
“I can say that Mayor Nuttall and council have a great collaborative working relationship which I do not anticipate changing as a result of the increased powers of the mayor's office,” said Coun. Craig Nixon, who represents Ward 2.
These powers include allowing mayors to propose housing-related bylaws and pass them with the support of one-third of councillors, as well as override council approval of bylaws, such as a zoning bylaw, that would stall building homes.
Strong mayors could also prepare and table their city's budget, instead of council, and hire and fire department heads.
Strong mayor powers for Toronto and Ottawa took effect in the fall of 2022 and will be expanded to mayors in the 26 additional municipalities on July 1, 2023.
The other Ontario cities getting strong mayor powers are Ajax, Brampton, Brantford, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Clarington, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Markham, Milton, Mississauga, Niagara Falls, Oakville, Oshawa, Pickering, Richmond Hill, St. Catharines, Vaughan, Waterloo, Whitby and Windsor.
