Civic clash
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ABOVE THE FOLD
Love them or hate them — and there’s plenty of both coming from all corners — strong mayors are coming to Toronto and Ottawa.
Ontario is still reeling after news broke that Queen’s Park will be implementing a “strong mayor” system for two of its biggest cities. Premier DOUG FORD confirmed the move Wednesday, the same day his cabinet was slated to meet, in an impromptu scrum with reporters.
“The mayor of Toronto or Ottawa, or any mayor — they’re accountable for everything, but they have the same single vote as a single councillor,” Ford said at Queen’s Park, laying out some of the fine print for how the system would be shaped.
How it works:
— The mayors of Toronto and Ottawa would get a veto power that could only be overruled by a two-thirds vote at city council.
— “We’ll do a trial” and then look at extending the same powers to “the rest of the mayors of relatively large cities” following the October 24 municipal elections, Ford said.
— Ford discussed the mat…