Mayor Brant Burrow Issues Statement Regarding Strong Mayor Powers

New Dublin – In response to the provincial government’s recently announced proposal to expand strong mayor powers to many municipalities across Ontario, Mayor Brant Burrow has issued the following statement:

“Yesterday, the provincial government announced its intention to significantly expand the number of municipalities for which strong mayor powers will apply. I applaud the government’s vision of reducing bureaucratic barriers involved in the expansion of much-needed housing stock; however, I do not feel that I need these powers.

While I cannot speak for the circumstances in any other municipality, I can assure the residents of Elizabethtown-Kitley that any delays in development experienced within the Township are not caused by local inefficiencies or political friction.

To be clear, strong mayor powers are very local in scope and cannot be used to circumvent provincially mandated planning processes, nor to usurp provincial jurisdiction. Delays associated with the involvement of other agencies and ministries, or constraints related to the supply and demand of professional services, will not be solved with strong mayor powers.

While I truly appreciate the provincial government’s implied trust in me by proposing to extend these new powers to the position of mayor in Elizabethtown-Kitley, I have no interest in exercising any authoritarian powers over council or staff. I respect the electorate and the democratic process; I always have, and I always will.

Should there be an element of the strong mayor powers which could help us
advance an initiative that corresponds to an already-established will of council, those are the only circumstances under which I would consider exercising any of the new powers – but even then, only to the extent necessary. I am all for using every tool that is available to us to move the business of the Township along on a consensus- driven basis.

For Elizabethtown-Kitley, the strong mayor powers are essentially a solution for a problem which does not exist.” – Mayor Brant Burrow