'A gross abuse of democracy': Some Ottawa city councillors slam province's bylaw plan

The surprise move by the provincial government to allow the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto to pass certain bylaws with just overone third of council's support isbeing called undemocratic by some members of city council.

"What board, what council, what democratic body operates with one-third as a vote required to make things go through?" said Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower.

"That would mean you would only need nine votes to pass something in a city council of 25 people That's an incredibly low threshold for getting approval on something."

"For [Clark] to make statementsthat it's our job to pass the provincial government's mandate or platform was a bit concerning to me," said new Rideau-Vanier Coun.Stphanie Planteon CBC Radio'sOttawa MorningThursday.

"I wasn't clear as to how I am now to best represent my constituents."

KitchissippiCoun. Jeff Leiper agrees.

"It's counter to everything that we know about how decisions get made in democracies. Democracy is based on majority rule, for the most part, and on really sensitive decisions, sometimesrequire even greater thresholds."

He said the legislation will have some councillors questioning why they just ran for office."What is our role in a city in which we can be out-voted with just one-third of council?"

Sutcliffe says he won't use powers

On Wednesday afternoon, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark tablednew legislation called the Better Municipal Governance Actthat, among other things, expanded the previously announced strong mayorlegislation.

The priorities under which it can be used will only be spelled out in the regulations after the legislation is passed, but Clark has singled out the province's aim to have 1.5 million new homes built in Ontario in the next decade and to build infrastructure, such as transit and roads, to support new growth.

"This council hasn't had any problem approving developments in this city What is the problem we're trying to fix here?" said River Coun. Riley Brockington onOttawa Morning.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffewas not available for comment, but in a statement Wednesday, he reiterated his promise not to use any of the strong mayor powers.

"I'm focused on ensuring that thousands of new homes are being built in Ottawa, including affordable and supportive homes," said the statement.

"The new city council is ready to work together to address barriers that prevent the building of more new homes throughout Ottawa."

This week's proposed legislation is just the latest in a series of movesto steamrollover cityand council memberpowers by a provincial government that says the measures are needed to build more homes faster.

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The day after the Oct. 24 municipal election, the province introduced Bill 23, which will remove the city's ability to charge in some instances fees that pay for infrastructure and parks, as well as its ability to regulate issues like architecture, scale, appearance or sustainable design features or environmental design rules.

The following week, after a yearlong delay, Clark approved the city's official planbut unilaterally, and with no option to appeal,added almost 50 per cent more land to the urban boundary than council had approved.

Now, the province is upping the ante on what it would take for the mayor to pass or amend a bylaw.

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Both Gower and Leiper are alarmed that there is no prescribed list of priorities.

Leiperwants to know if the new rules are for straightforward issues such asrezoning for subdivisionsor "something as complex as putting a municipal subsidy into a project like Lansdowne Park."

The timing of these provincial announcements in the past few weeks, with the province giving every indication that it plans to approve Bill 23 by the end of the month, is not lost on some council members.

"I have to assume that Premier [Doug] Ford is well-aware that the election was just held, that councils are probably at their weakest right now, and is seeking to move these changes through before councils can catch their breath and mount an effective opposition," Leiper told CBC.

"It is a gross abuse of democracy to move these changes through in the fashion they are being moved through."