Local politicians heaved a collective sigh of relief as Ontario’s municipal affairs and housing minister today announced the government has no desire to change the status quo after its nearly year-long review of the province’s regional and municipal governments.
“I want to be clear, we will not force amalgamations of municipalities, we will not impose cuts on municipal councils, and we will not be imposing these changes on our municipal partners,” Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said this morning at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s inaugural policy forum in London, ON. “Our government stands firm in its commitment to partnering with municipalities … without pursuing a top-down approach.”
The Ontario government’s December 2018 announcement that it would review the province’s eight regional municipalities, including York Region, Durham, Halton, Muskoka District, Oxford County, Peel, Waterloo, and Simcoe County, along with their local municipalities, to ensure they were working “effectively and efficiently” hung like a cloud of uncertainty over Newmarket and York Region councils.
Newmarket council, itself, sent a letter to the review’s special advisors stating that “amalgamations and fewer elected officials may sound good on paper, but it may lead to a weakening of local democracy and local government — the level that is closest to the people”.
Today’s confirmation that no such thing is on the table was welcome news to Newmarket Mayor John Taylor.
“I’m certainly pleased that York Region and our nine municipalities here are not impacted,” Taylor said. “We have a very mature and efficient two levels of government that provide incredibly important services to the people of Newmarket and York Region.”
“It’s also positive that this has come to a conclusion because it really was hanging over the decision-making process of many municipalities, both local and regional, and there was some hesitation on moving forward on certain things because the landscape was so uncertain,” Taylor added. “ So, we can now get back on full production.”
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The regional government review received 8,500 submissions from across Ontario, special advisors Michael Fenn and Ken Seiling attended nine in-person sessions, and listened to more than 100 individuals and organizations, Clark said.
“We received a very strong response through the consultations and, as I said many times, the government had no preconceived outcomes for the review, we truly wanted to hear from our communities about local governments,” said Clark.
“And here is what we heard: local communities want to decide what’s best for them when it comes to governance and decision-making,” he said.
The report, which reviewed 82 upper and lower-tier municipalities, will not be made public.
"It will remain confidential advice to Cabinet," said Conrad Spezowka, a spokesperson for municipal affairs and housing.
Clark acknowledged that municipalities are the level of government closest to the people, and a one-size-fits-all approach does not apply.
York Region chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson said he is also pleased with the provincial announcement to help make Ontario municipalities strong.
"They have listened to our feedback and committed to having governance, service-delivery and decision making of municipalities left in the hands of local governments," Emmerson said. “Throughout the year, York Regional council has provided significant feedback to the Ontario government, standing firm in our support of the Region’s two-tier government structure as the most effective means to deliver critical infrastructure and services to our communities and residents."
"York Region is proud to have a strong culture of continuous improvement," he said. "We deliver high-quality programs and services to our residents while continually striving to provide the best value to the taxpayer."
"Strengthening regional government is a priority, and I applaud the Ontario government for committing additional funds to help government leverage further efficiencies," Emmerson said. "As part of our commitment to innovation, we look forward to working with our provincial partners to further explore ways to optimize service delivery and reduce costs, while at the same time ensuring we continue to build thriving communities for our residents, businesses and visitors.”
The minister outlined the government’s next steps, which includes:
- Provincial funding up to $143 million to municipalities to help them lower costs and improve services for local residents over the long term, available to all 444 municipalities so they can find more efficient ways to operate and focus spending on vital programs and services
- Extending two application-based funding streams: one for small and rural municipalities, and one for large urban governments.
- The 2020 Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund will have the same structure as 2019 and provide a total of $500 million to 389 municipalities across the province
- Ontario will also launch a consultation with municipalities about whether to align the municipal and provincial fiscal year
- The proposal to eliminate duplication by combining the provincial and municipal voters’ lists, giving Elections Ontario the responsibility of managing the updated list and taking the burden off of municipalities.
Taylor said everybody benefits when a government goes to the length the Ontario government did to engage, consult and employ experts in the field to explore the subject.
“Maybe there are ideas for future consideration, or there’s short-term learning there that we can look to find efficiencies in the current structure,” he said, adding the town has already taken advantage of funding through the government’s audit and accountability program to take a deep dive into its operational spending to uncover ways of doing things better and more efficiently.
“Any provincial dollars that will help us to do more of what we’re doing already, we’ll be applying,” said Taylor. “It’s a process that never ends, and if there’s an opportunity to bring greater funds to get outside expertise and dig a bit deeper, I welcome the opportunity.”
The Newmarket mayor was also heartened by what he believes is a recognition of the importance of local government in Clark’s address.
“Municipalities were made a creature of the province a long time ago, and the level of sophistication that now exists within local government, like highly skilled staff at the local and regional level, no longer requires someone to watch over us and make sure we’re doing things right,” he said. “We’re accountable to people directly. We don’t really need, in this day and age, another level of government to monitor our every move.”
Local political pundit Darryl Wolk, who has been closely following Ontario’s review of local government, said the ongoing audits being undertaken by large and small municipalities across the province, including Newmarket, may turn up areas where savings can be found.
“It appears the government has decided to stick with the status quo,” said Wolk. “Municipalities still face challenges in their 2020 budgets, but alignment with the provincial budget cycle is a positive move.”
Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin, who is a past-president of AMO and who took to the podium after Clark’s announcement, said the minister hinted that she would like his morning remarks.
“I told him if I did, then thank you just wouldn’t be enough,” Dollin said, who turned toward Clark and gave him a big hug.
