Coteau blasts Ford’s cuts to municipalities
Third-term MPP commits to broad-based municipal governance review
OTTAWA—Ontario Liberal leadership contender and MPP Michael Coteau blasted Premier Doug Ford’s planned cuts to Ontario municipalities.
“Doug Ford’s heavy-handed approach to municipalities does not consider today’s realities and challenges they face. Municipalities need a new, modern deal with Ontario,” Coteau said.
“Ontario must welcome its municipalities to the table as equal partners with the province in seeking the way forward side-by-side. This weekend, I proposed three measures as a New Deal for Ontario’s Municipalities that affirms their status, capacities and responsibilities and recognizes the reality of their role in serving Ontarians today and in the future,” Coteau concluded.
In an open letter to the AMO president, Coteau committed over the weekend to:
- A Fresh Relationship “that engages municipalities as equal partners, characterized by mutual respect, true consultation, openness and transparency.”
- Reassessing “Who Does What?” moving beyond the current government’s focus on “lines on a map” with “a clear-eyed examination and analysis of the provision of services by municipal governments, maturing beyond questions of uploading or downloading costs and instead focusing on the goal of putting local control back into local hands, where connection with and understanding of the needs of people and their local communities is strongest and most grounded in real-world experience.”
- Creating Charter Cities to “better reflect current reality and recognize and embrace the vectors of future trends to ensure that Ontario’s large urban municipalities are equipped to manage their continued growth and change.”
For more information:
info@michaelcoteau.com
