Norfolk rejects province’s housing pledge, strong mayor plan

Norfolk County councilors have said ‘thanks but no thanks’ to the province’s strong mayor, cash for new housing plan.

Councilors, at a Tuesday council-in-committee, voted against a county staff recommendation to submit a Norfolk County Housing Pledge to the province.

Councilors Mike Columbus, Alan Duthie, Adam Veri, Kim Huffman, Doug Brunton and Linda Vandendriessche voted to reject the staff recommendation. Mayor Amy Martin and councilors Chris Van Paassen and Tom Masschaelle, voted in favor.

“I’m just not comfortable with this because there are just too many unanswered questions for a $1.5 million gift,” Coun. Mike Columbus said. “We’re looking at housing for the homeless and the working poor to pay for affordable homes and I don’t know how those people or even a well-paid working man can afford some of these so-called affordable homes.”

The county is being asked by the province to commit to allowing 5,700 new homes to be built in Norfolk by 2031. To help meet the target, the province is offering the county about $1.5 million a year for the next three years as well as the so -called strong mayor powers.

The strong mayors powers and provincial money are given to municipalities that agree to meet provincial housing targets under the provincial plan.

Councils that accept the ‘strong mayor’ power by Oct. 15 will have a mayor able to pass housing-related bylaws with the support of one-third of council, and override council approval of certain bylaws.

Coun. Adam Veri said he could not support the recommendation because he believes in majority rule.

“There could be decisions made by council where the majority does not rule,” Veri said. “I can’t support putting Ward 6 in that position now and into the future where majority rule doesn’t take the day,” Veri said.

Mayor Amy Martin took a different view.

“My concern is that, whether we like it or not, we’re now going to be going back to the province, to a new minister of municipal affairs and housing that we don’t have a relationship with and we’re going to be saying ‘thanks but no thanks.’” Martin said. “But ‘oh, by the way’ we still need $400-plus (million) for our inter-urban water plan.”

Paul Calandra, MPP for Oak Ridges-Markham, replaced Steve Clark as Ontario’s municipal affairs minister on Sept. 4 following Clark’s resignation over the controversy surrounding development of the Green Belt.

Martin said the county’s messaging will appear that the county is not prepared to play ball with the provincial.

“How do we show up to additional meetings and ask for money and say our taxpayers and our ratepayers can’t afford to live in Norfolk County and reject this first opportunity for funding?” Martin said. “I really feel that it’s imperative.”

Coun. Alan Duthie gave councilors a lengthy list of questions he said needed to be answered before signing on to the province’s plan.

“I’m just not prepared to sign the municipality up for something that we don’t yet have all of the answers to,” Duthie said. “It’s unfair to ask us to sign this contract without having all of the information.”

Duthie said the messaging to the ministry should be that the county does “want to play ball” but Norfolk needs more information before it can do so.

Van Paassen spoke in favor of the housing pledge and accepting the strong mayor powers.

“We have to give a little bit to get a little bit,” Van Paassen said. “We’ve discussed a lot of the merits of the program and the biggest sticker is what are we giving up to get something else and that’s the strong mayor’s powers is what we have to give up.

“I have no concerns under the current legislation of abuse of that power by our current mayor or any other mayor of Norfolk County.”

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