Today, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario held the third-reading vote on Bill 3, Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act. The Bill passed with 74 ayes and 31 nays. The Bill will come into effect on November 15, 2022, the first day of office for new Councils.

AMCTO shared our concerns with the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy by providing remarks on August 29^th and through a written submission. Concerns include:

• Effective removal of non-partisan local government leaders;
• The potential for the politicization of senior and other local government officials; and
• The additional administrative burden the Bill would create for AMCTO members and other municipal staff.

In our submission, we also put forward several recommendations for the Committee’s consideration.

The Ministry has not yet released the regulation(s) which may prescribe provincial priorities for which some of the additional powers will be granted to the Mayors of Ottawa and Toronto to advance. AMCTO will continue to monitor this process, as well as the potential roll-out of this legislation to other municipalities.