Waterloo Regional councillors are sending a message to the province as a new method of choosing a regional chair is set to come into effect. Earlier this year, Doug Ford’s government announced the role of chair of Waterloo Region would change from an elected position to a provincially-appointed one. The province is expected to announce who will become the region’s next chair after the municipal election on Oct. 26. But in the meantime, the region’s current council is raising concerns with the possibility that the chair could technically also be serving as mayor of one of the region’s municipalities. During a regional council meeting on Wednesday night, Councillor Doug Criag put forward a motion stating that council voice its opposition to any governance model that would allow one person to simultaneously serve as both a mayor and the regional chair. “I think the motion is basically sending a message to Queen’s Park that we find this is an affront to local democracy, that the people of this region can choose their own chair and they’ve done that successfully for a number of years and we’d like to stay on that path,” he said. Craig’s motion raised concerns with the concentration of strong mayor and strong chair powers potentially combined into one role. Councillor Pam Wolf, who seconded the motion, also voiced her concerns. “We know from past regional meetings, which have gone very long, that some mayors have had to leave our meeting to attend their city meetings. Given the demands of both offices it would be difficult for one person to serve effectively in both roles,” Wolf said. Council voted unanimously in favour of the motion. The resolution will be forwarded to the province. Rob Flack, Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs and housing, has previously said the province accepted applications from qualified candidates. “People that are interested in serving as regional chairs are welcome to apply for the job,” he said. “There will be a criteria set out, such as having elected experience in the region that you’re going to serve, having leadership skills… an ability to facilitate. There’ll be a set of criteria and not too onerous.” A posting of the job says the regional chair will serve a four-year term beginning on Nov. 15 in the year of a regular election.
