And at a fundamental level, how does a “strong mayor” address the key problem facing the City of Toronto — its increasing financial problems?
By Geoff Kettel, Contributor
Toronto Star, September, 3, 2022
The Ford government has introduced legislation that would give “strong mayor” powers to — initially — the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa. This out-of-the-blue announcement, (there was no mention of this during the provincial election) was warmly received by Mayor John Tory of Toronto, and perhaps less warmly by Mayor Jim Watson of Ottawa.
Since the July announcement, the idea has received an increasing amount of media attention, most of it criticism and skepticism. The most frequent reaction is, “why is this measure necessary?” A good question indeed, at least in the case of Toronto.