How will John Tory’s ‘strong mayor’ powers work and what will they mean for Toronto?
When Toronto City Council convenes on Wednesday for the first meeting of its new term, the man in the mayor’s chair will be the same, but the power he wields will have grown significantly.
The new law, Bill 39, says if the mayor is “of the opinion” a bylaw would advance a priority set out by the province, it can be passed “if more than one-third of the members of city council vote in favour.” That means instead of needing a majority, Tory will have to secure the votes of justThe one-third provision has been criticized by council members and city hall watchers as undemocratic.
Tory says he was the one who suggested the one-third provision because he believed the province’s original strong-mayor legislation didn’t go far enough. It limited him to vetoing council decisions instead of allowing him to push through his own measures. Because they reduce council’s input and must be used to further provincial aims, the changes “will bulldoze local decision-making so Doug Ford can wield more power,” the opposition alleges.not to abuse his new authority and pledged he will only employ the powers in “very limited” circumstances when efforts at collaboration fail.
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