Ontario plans to apply ‘strong mayor’ powers in 169 more communities [Video]

TORONTO — Ontario is proposing to more than triple the number of mayors who have so-called strong mayor powers, looking to add 169 municipalities to the list.

The powers, which critics decry as undemocratic, include allowing heads of council to propose bylaws and pass them with the support of one-third of councillors, veto bylaws and hire and fire department heads.

Premier Doug Ford’s government first granted the powers to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, and since then has expanded them a few times, with the list currently at 47.

The list of towns to be added includes Orillia, Bracebridge, Brockville, Wasaga Beach, Cobourg, Kenora and Prince Edward County, as well as the Niagara communities of Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Durham Region communities of Brock, Uxbridge and Scugog townships.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack says in a press release that the strong mayor powers will allow …