Most trucks up here carry something in the box that never gets used on an ordinary day. A come-along, a tow strap, a chain. You don't bring it out to back into a parking spot. It sits there through a hundred ordinary drives, and then one day the logging road's washed out, someone's stuck to the axles, and you're glad it's there. It doesn't let you drag the truck wherever you feel like going. It's anchored to one specific job, everyone standing there can see exactly what it's hooked to, and when it's done, it goes back in the box.
That's closer to what a strong mayor power actually is than the picture some people have in their heads.
What the power actually does
Here's the plain version, not the talking-point version. The mayor's veto only applies to a bylaw passed under four specific provincial acts, and only when the mayor believes that bylaw could interfere with a provincial priority -- in practice, housing and the infrastructure that supports it. It can't be used to override a Council decision just because the mayor doesn't like the outcome.
And Council isn't stuck with it. If the mayor vetoes something, two-thirds of the whole Council -- not just whoever's in the room that night -- can vote to override the veto and the original decision stands. That's a real check, not a symbolic one.
There's a second part of the power that matters more for how I'd actually use it: the mayor can direct staff to look into something, to do research or bring back policy advice. But the law requires that direction to be given in writing. Not a phone call, not a hallway conversation. A written record -- the kind a resident can ask to see.
If you're worried about decisions happening behind closed doors, that requirement is doing more work for you than most people realize.
Where I actually stand on this
I'll be straight about something. I'm not a cheerleader for strong mayor powers, and I'm not against them either. Whether the province was right to create this tool is a bigger political fight than a township election, and I'm not going to pretend I need to win it here.
What I actually care about is understanding the tool itself instead of reacting to the word "power." A lot of the fear around this isn't really about what the tool does -- it's about the word attached to it. Call something a weapon and people brace for the worst before they ever ask how it works. I'd rather just tell you how it works and let you decide for yourself.
Honestly, given how limited that piece is, I don't expect I'll ever actually need to use it. If this tool gets used at all under me, it's far more likely to be the quieter half -- a written direction to staff to go look into something Council and residents deserve a straight answer on, not a dramatic override of anybody's vote.
Why the province handed this to a township our size
This wasn't North Frontenac's idea, and it wasn't optional. The province has a target of 1.5 million homes built by 2031, it's currently behind on that target, and it made a decision to extend this tool to more municipalities -- including ours -- in 2025. Minister Rob Flack was direct about why: "By extending strong mayor powers to these additional municipalities, we are providing mayors every tool at our disposal to empower them to get homes and infrastructure built faster."
That's consistent with the logic the province used when it first built this tool for growth-target municipalities. Then-Minister Steve Clark put it plainly at the time: "Our government is determined that these municipalities are set up for success and that they have the necessary tools to deliver on the housing commitments they have made."
Whether any of us think that's the right tool for the job, it's the tool the province put in the box. Pretending it isn't there, or refusing to say how you'd use it, doesn't make it go away. It just means residents find out how their mayor thinks about it after the fact instead of before they vote.
I'm not the only one landing here
I'm also not the only mayor in this area taking this approach. When these powers first reached Central Frontenac, Mayor Frances Smith said plainly that she didn't especially want them, but that she'd use them if she felt Council wasn't acting in the township's best interest -- close to the position I'm running on as a candidate for mayor here. She's also chosen not to veto anything in her own township's budget process, using the tool to help shape a plan up front rather than overrule Council after the fact.
Neighbouring mayors who actually hold this tool seem to be treating it carefully and using it rarely, which tracks with what the record actually shows once you look -- not what the rumour mill assumes.
What I'd actually use it for
Here's a real example, not a hypothetical. I've been looking seriously at whether underused Crown land near our villages could support small-scale housing -- the kind that grows our tax base instead of landing more of the bill on the property owners already here. Getting a straight answer means someone has to actually check the Crown Land Use Policy map, ask the regional MNRF office a direct question, and see whether a Township-sponsored proposal has a real path forward.
That's exactly the kind of thing I'd use this power for: a written direction to administration to go find out, on the record, so Council and residents are working from real information instead of a shrug. Not deciding the outcome. Not routing around a Council vote. Getting a straight answer to a straight question, faster than waiting for the next regular meeting cycle to get around to it -- because for a housing program that prioritizes proposals ready to move, six weeks of delay isn't free.
Where I draw the line
I'm not interested in using this power to get around Council when Council and I disagree. If a majority of Council votes against something I want, my job is to make a better case, not reach for a tool that lets me skip the vote I lost. Every time I'd use this, I'd rather bring it to Council in the open than decide it behind a door and explain it after.
A tool nobody's ever seen explained looks like a threat. I'd rather you see exactly what's in the box, what it's for, and what it isn't for -- before you ever have a reason to wonder.
Questions about this -- I'd genuinely rather hear them now than after October 26th. Come find me at a meeting, send me a message, or catch me on the road.
Art Hannigan
Candidate for Mayor, Township of North Frontenac