‘No thanks’: Smiths Falls council pushes back on Strong Mayor Powers

LAURIE WEIR

Smiths Falls council is pushing back against a provincial plan to grant the mayor sweeping new powers, with councillors unanimously signalling that they don’t support the move — and will be telling the Ford government: “No, thank you.”

Council received a staff report Monday outlining Ontario’s proposed expansion of strong mayor powers to 169 additional municipalities, including Smiths Falls, starting May 1. But despite the short comment window — feedback is due April 16 — councillors were clear: the town doesn’t need or want them.

“This is a bad idea,” said Coun. Peter McKenna. “It politicizes municipalities. Municipalities aren’t aligned with any political party — and I don’t want to go down that road. We already have enough control issues in municipal politics without giving one person even more power.”

The powers, first introduced in Toronto and Ottawa in 2022 and gradually expanded to larger municipalities, would allow mayors to hire and fire senior staff, propose budgets, veto bylaws, and unilaterally bring forward matters for council, as long as they are deemed to advance provincial priorities like housing or transit.

Clerk Kerry Costello explained that under the proposed changes, “the mayor could reorganize departments, propose the budget — something normally done by the treasurer — and even veto certain bylaws if they believe they interfere with provincial priorities.”

‘We don’t need this’

Councillors expressed concern about how the powers could be misused by a future mayor — especially in a community like Smiths Falls, where collaboration has long been the norm.

“We have lots of 4–3 votes and we walk out of here just fine,” said Coun. Jay Brennan. “We make our own decisions and the mayor has a vote, and that’s the way it should be.”

Mayor Shawn Pankow, who has served as the mayor for over a decade, said, “I haven’t seen a single situation in the last 10 years where I would have felt compelled take advantage of that position based on what’s been outlined here. In reality, democracy has been working, and I don’t see a need to erode that.”

Pankow said they haven’t always agreed, but they’ve always been respectful when reaching a decision, and they’ve moved on. 

The mayor said even though he doesn’t foresee himself using the powers of the strong mayor legislation, “you never know what’s going to happen in the future and really felt the need to go on a firing spree, as an example and completely disrupt civility that we have around here.”

While supporters of the system — including the province — say it speeds up housing development, council wasn’t convinced. “Stronger powers were supposed to help build more houses. That hasn’t been proven — but I stand to be corrected,” said Costello.

A clear and firm message

Coun. Steve Robinson shared a prepared statement on the record, urging the province to reconsider the move entirely.

“Smiths Falls does not need to incorporate strong mayor powers, because doing so risks undermining the collaborative foundation of municipal government,” he stated. “It could reduce transparency and create the potential for unilateral decision-making that doesn’t reflect the will of the broader community.”

Robinson noted that while things might work under the current leadership, there’s no telling what a future mayor might do.

“There’s another election in a year and a half. Candidates are unknown. The potential consequences of this change are uncertain.”

No conditions — but no opt-out either

Costello confirmed in her report that while earlier expansions of strong mayor powers were tied to housing targets, that’s not the case this time. “There are no conditions on accepting or refusing the powers under this legislation,” she noted. “So, there would be no consequences for council saying no.”

CAO Malcolm Morris said it’s unclear whether municipalities can formally opt out. “Perth council held a special meeting this morning and voted to reject the powers — but we’re not sure that’s even an option,” he added.

Council directed staff to prepare comments reflecting its position: firmly against the adoption of strong mayor powers — and submit them to the province ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.