WHEREAS the Government of Ontario, through the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, has introduced Bill 3 which is described as "An Act to amend various statutes with respect to special powers and duties of heads of council";
AND WHEREAS this Bill, if enacted, will initially apply to the City of Toronto and City of Ottawa, but will later be expanded to include other municipalities according to a statement made by the Premier at the 2022 AMO annual conference;
AND WHEREAS this Bill, if enacted, will give Mayors additional authority and powers, and correspondingly take away authority and powers from Councils and professional staff, and will include giving the Mayor the authority to propose and adopt the Municipal budget and to veto some decisions of Council;
AND WHEREAS this Bill, if enacted, will give authority over professional staff to the Mayor, including that of the Chief Administrative Officer;
AND WHEREAS these changes will result in a reduction of independence for professional staff including the CAO, who currently provide objective information to the Council and public and will now take direction from the Mayor alone when the Mayor so directs;
AND WHEREAS these are surprising and unnecessary changes to the historical balance of power between a Mayor and Council, and which historically gave the final say in all matters to the will of the majority of the elected Council.
THEREFORE, this Council of the Town of Kingsville, passes this resolution to petition the Government of Ontario that:
1. These changes to the Municipal Act, 2001, are unnecessary and will negatively affect the Town of Kingsville;
2. That if the Ontario Government deems these changes necessary in large single-tier municipalities such as Toronto and Ottawa, that such changes should not be implemented in smaller municipalities;
3. That the Ontario Government should enact legislation clarifying the role of Mayor, Council and Chief Administrative Officer, similar to those recommended by the Ontario Municipal Administrator's Association and those recommended by Justice Marrocco in the Collingwood judicial inquiry of 2020; and
4. That if the stated goal of this legislation is to construct more housing in Ontario that this can be accomplished through other means including amendment of the Planning Act and funding of more affordable housing.
Council further directs the Clerk to ensure that a copy of this resolution be provided to the Premier of Ontario, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the "Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy", Kingsville's MPP, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and other Municipalities in Ontario.