Recognizing the signs of fascism today
An extended conversation with professor and author Timothy Snyder about his decision to leave Yale University to teach in Canada, telling CBC's Eli Glasner why understanding history is the most important weapon in the fight against rising fascism.
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CTV News
30 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘Crazy idea': Ontario councillors push back as strong mayor powers reach small towns
Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack attends Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston A month after Ontario's government extended strong mayor powers to a swath of new municipalities, some leaders are promising never to use the measures — but a chorus of small-town councillors warn that local democracy is under threat. As of May 1, another 169 mayors in the province can now veto bylaws, pass new ones with just one-third of council in favour and hire or fire municipal department heads unilaterally. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister and MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London Rob Flack said last month that the province decided to more than triple the number of mayors who can access the powers in an effort to build housing faster and streamline local governance. The measures were first introduced in 2022 and initially only applied to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario's two most populous cities. Several municipalities are taking active steps to reject the powers now that they have been granted more widely. Mark Hunter, one of 10 city councillors in Stratford, recently got unanimous support for his motion to reject the new powers. Hunter said it was symbolic and designed to show that municipal democracy shouldn't be 'subject to provincial whim.' Stratford City Hall downtown Stratford City Hall seen here on Feb. 4, 2021. (Dan Lauckner / CTV Kitchener) 'What it effectively does is get rid of majority rule in our council,' he said. 'It's the expectation of the residents in our community that their representatives are able to fully represent them and this change puts some level of diminishment on that.' Hunter said his fellow councillors can have strong disagreements at council, but lively discussions result in better decisions for the community. Anything that diminishes that discussion is worse for residents, he said. Councillors aren't concerned about Stratford's current mayor abusing his power, said Hunter, but they are worried about what could happen in the future. 'It's another example of concentrating power in fewer hands. Unfortunately in human history, that doesn't always work out so well,' he said. David O'Neil, a councillor in Quinte West, said he is also concerned about strong mayor powers, adding they represent 'a real misdirection' by the province. 'I think this decision is on par with the crazy idea of building a tunnel under the 401,' O'Neil said, referring to Premier Doug Ford's promise to add a tunnel under the major Ontario highway. He added he is skeptical that strong mayor powers would lead to new housing being built in his community, and thinks the province should waive development fees if it wants to see more housing built. Zack Card, another councillor for Quinte West, said he believes the expansion of the strong mayor powers will 'erode the democratic traditions of municipal councils in Ontario.' 'I believe effective councils work collaboratively and with an understanding that all voices carry equal weight. Tipping that balance could potentially hinder governance and make solving issues within our communities more difficult,' Card wrote in an email. Neither O'Neil nor Card would speak to the recent dismissal of the municipality's chief administration officer, which was described on the municipality's website as a 'mayoral decision' pursuant to the legislation, made on the first day the powers were available. Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison said in an email to The Canadian Press that 'the decision was made in close collaboration and consensus with council, utilizing strong mayor powers to move forward.' Less than a week after the decision, he told a council meeting that he wasn't planning to make use of the strong mayor powers. O'Neil suggested his concern is more future-oriented: it's unclear what could a different sort of mayor do with these powers five, 10 or 20 years down the road. David Arbuckle, executive director of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, said unilateral power threatens a local government's administrative authority and staffers' ability to give non-partisan, evidence-based advice. 'It's changed the dynamic where (a city staffer) now has to be mindful of the fact that they could be hired or fired by the mayor at any point in time,' Arbuckle said in a recent interview. 'The advice they're bringing forward may not be as neutral as possible because ultimately they are now responding to one individual.' Corey Engelsdorfer, a councillor from Prince Edward County, said he's worried the powers will exacerbate existing divisions on his council and, should they be used, could 'sideline' constituents even as the community experiences a boom in development. The traditional model of majority rule is already divisive, Engelsdorfer said — especially when it comes to housing decisions — so decisions being made with even less support could lead to even more public cynicism. Queens Park Queens Park in Toronto is seen in this undated file photo 'The way we build homes is by working together as a council and not by one person or a third of council pushing through what they want to push through,' he said. 'I always hear Premier Ford say that these changes cut red tape, but democracy to me is not red tape. I don't think it's something that needs to be in place at all.' Mayor Steve Ferguson said in an interview that he was working to defer several of the strong mayor powers, including personnel decisions, back to council. The council also unanimously passed a resolution asking the province to rescind strong mayor legislation, Engelsdorfer said. Despite the concerns, Matti Siemiatycki, director of the University of Toronto's Infrastructure Institute and a professor of geography and planning, said the uptake of the powers has been 'fairly underwhelming.' Before last month, there were only 46 so-called strong mayors in Ontario. Only a few made use of their powers. High-profile examples include Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath advancing affordable housing development on two municipal parking lots in April 2024, and Mississauga's former mayor Bonnie Crombie passing bylaws to build fourplexes in October 2023. But Siemiatycki said he fears there's greater risk for strong mayor powers to go unchecked in smaller municipalities, where there is less oversight and, often, less journalistic scrutiny. 'We've seen an erosion and a decline of the local presses across Canada, and it's no more visible than in small communities,' he said. 'If you're concentrating powers, what's really needed is external oversight bodies. And the media is one of those, so smaller communities might struggle to have that accountability and people being aware of what's happening.' Siemiatycki said while he sympathizes with the province's desire to tackle a housing and infrastructure crisis, he agrees with the councillors who have raised concerns. 'It doesn't necessarily mean you'll go further just because you're aiming to go faster,' he said. 'The thing that's more sustainable over the long term is acceleration through processes that have very clear accountabilities and timelines to them.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.
National Post
32 minutes ago
- National Post
Worsening wildfires prompt more evacuations in northern Manitoba
More people in northern Manitoba were told to leave their homes Saturday, and Saskatchewan's premier warned the number of evacuees in his province will likely climb as wildfires continued to threaten communities and send thick smoke into the air. Article content Article content The roughly 600 residents of Cranberry Portage in northwestern Manitoba were placed under a mandatory evacuation order because fire had knocked out power to the community — a situation expected to last for days. Article content Article content People in a few smaller communities nearby were put on a two-hour evacuation notice after a fire jumped across a highway. Article content Article content An evacuation of Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba, which started earlier in the week, ramped up further on Saturday. Officials were expecting five flights to leave for Winnipeg by the end of the day. Article content 'The wildfire has crossed the main road, and the area remains filled with smoke and ash,' Chief David Monias wrote on Facebook. Article content Manitoba's Indigenous leaders, including Monias, told a news conference on Saturday that hotel rooms in the cities where evacuees are arriving are full, and they called for politicians like Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Wab Kinew to issue a directive to hotel owners to give evacuees priority. Article content Article content Article content In Flin Flon, Man., where the city's 5,000 residents had already been evacuated, an out-of-control fire continued to burn very close to the community. There were no structure fires as of Saturday morning, but officials were worried a shift in the wind could bring flames right into the city.
CBC
33 minutes ago
- CBC
Ontario councillors push back as strong mayor powers reach small towns
A month after Ontario's government extended strong mayor powers to a swath of new municipalities, some leaders are promising never to use the measures — but a chorus of small-town councillors warn that local democracy is under threat. As of May 1, another 169 mayors in the province can now veto bylaws, pass new ones with just one-third of council in favour and hire or fire municipal department heads unilaterally. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack said last month that the province decided to more than triple the number of mayors who can access the powers in an effort to build housing faster and streamline local governance. The measures were first introduced in 2022 and initially only applied to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario's two most populous cities. Several municipalities are taking active steps to reject the powers now that they have been granted more widely. Mark Hunter, one of 10 city councillors in Stratford, recently got unanimous support for his motion to reject the new powers. Hunter said it was symbolic and designed to show that municipal democracy shouldn't be "subject to provincial whim." "What it effectively does is get rid of majority rule in our council," he said. "It's the expectation of the residents in our community that their representatives are able to fully represent them and this change puts some level of diminishment on that." Hunter said his fellow councillors can have strong disagreements at council, but lively discussions result in better decisions for the community. Anything that diminishes that discussion is worse for residents, he said. Councillors aren't concerned about Stratford's current mayor abusing his power, said Hunter, but they are worried about what could happen in the future. "It's another example of concentrating power in fewer hands. Unfortunately in human history, that doesn't always work out so well," he said. Worries about democratic processes David O'Neil, a councillor in Quinte West, said he is also concerned about strong mayor powers, adding they represent "a real misdirection" by the province. "I think this decision is on par with the crazy idea of building a tunnel under the 401," O'Neil said, referring to Premier Doug Ford's promise to add a tunnel under the major Ontario highway. He added he is skeptical that strong mayor powers would lead to new housing being built in his community, and thinks the province should waive development fees if it wants to see more housing built. Zack Card, another councillor for Quinte West, said he believes the expansion of the strong mayor powers will "erode the democratic traditions of municipal councils in Ontario." "I believe effective councils work collaboratively and with an understanding that all voices carry equal weight. Tipping that balance could potentially hinder governance and make solving issues within our communities more difficult," Card wrote in an email. Neither O'Neil nor Card would speak to the recent dismissal of the municipality's chief administration officer, which was described on the municipality's website as a "mayoral decision" pursuant to the legislation, made on the first day the powers were available. Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison said in an email to The Canadian Press that "the decision was made in close collaboration and consensus with council, utilizing strong mayor powers to move forward." Less than a week after the decision, he told a council meeting that he wasn't planning to make use of the strong mayor powers. O'Neil suggested his concern is more future-oriented: it's unclear what could a different sort of mayor do with these powers five, 10 or 20 years down the road. 'It's changed the dynamic' for non-partisan staff David Arbuckle, executive director of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario, said unilateral power threatens a local government's administrative authority and staffers' ability to give non-partisan, evidence-based advice. "It's changed the dynamic where (a city staffer) now has to be mindful of the fact that they could be hired or fired by the mayor at any point in time," Arbuckle said in a recent interview. "The advice they're bringing forward may not be as neutral as possible because ultimately they are now responding to one individual." Corey Engelsdorfer, a councillor from Prince Edward County, said he's worried the powers will exacerbate existing divisions on his council and, should they be used, could "sideline" constituents even as the community experiences a boom in development. The traditional model of majority rule is already divisive, Engelsdorfer said — especially when it comes to housing decisions — so decisions being made with even less support could lead to even more public cynicism. "The way we build homes is by working together as a council and not by one person or a third of council pushing through what they want to push through," he said. "I always hear Premier Ford say that these changes cut red tape, but democracy to me is not red tape. I don't think it's something that needs to be in place at all." Mayor Steve Ferguson said in an interview that he was working to defer several of the strong mayor powers, including personnel decisions, back to council. The council also unanimously passed a resolution asking the province to rescind strong mayor legislation, Engelsdorfer said. 'Underwhelming' uptake of new powers Despite the concerns, Matti Siemiatycki, director of the University of Toronto's Infrastructure Institute and a professor of geography and planning, said the uptake of the powers has been "fairly underwhelming." Before last month, there were only 46 so-called strong mayors in Ontario. Only a few made use of their powers. High-profile examples include Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath advancing affordable housing development on two municipal parking lots in April 2024, and Mississauga's former mayor Bonnie Crombie passing bylaws to build fourplexes in October 2023. But Siemiatycki said he fears there's greater risk for strong mayor powers to go unchecked in smaller municipalities, where there is less oversight and, often, less journalistic scrutiny. "We've seen an erosion and a decline of the local presses across Canada, and it's no more visible than in small communities," he said. "If you're concentrating powers, what's really needed is external oversight bodies. And the media is one of those, so smaller communities might struggle to have that accountability and people being aware of what's happening." Siemiatycki said while he sympathizes with the province's desire to tackle a housing and infrastructure crisis, he agrees with the councillors who have raised concerns. "It doesn't necessarily mean you'll go further just because you're aiming to go faster," he said. "The thing that's more sustainable over the long term is acceleration through processes that have very clear accountabilities and timelines to them."
