The public has their say on Bills 3 and 7

And special visitors descend on the Leg

ABOVE THE FOLD

CHEERS AND JEERS — Stakeholders had much to say about the province’s strong mayor legislation at committee, while the public was shut out of debate on the controversial hospital-to-long-term-care transfer bill. But that didn’t stop them from giving their two cents. Here’s what folks are talking about:

On Bill 3, the strong-mayor legislation that would give the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto sweeping new authority over bylaws, budgets and hiring, with an eye to building housing:

— MYER SIEMIATYCKI, professor emeritus of politics at Toronto Metropolitan University: “Who it’s really harming are local residents…If we go down the path of this legislation, ward councillors will effectively be sidelined in the major decisions that city government is making. The senior staff will see their careers as totally dependent on approval from the mayor…It turns our mayors from local chief magistrates into provincial enforcement officers at city hall.”

— WASIM JARRAH, provincial director a…