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Strong mayor powers used to block majority on fractious eastern Ontario council
Strong mayor powers used to block majority on fractious eastern Ontario council

CBC

time4 days ago

  • Business
  • CBC

Strong mayor powers used to block majority on fractious eastern Ontario council

The mayor of a small, conflict-wracked eastern Ontario council has exercised strong mayor powers, just a month after the controversial measures were extended to new municipalities. Last week Arie Hoogenboom, the mayor of Rideau Lakes, vetoed a council decision to seek quotes for a plan to renovate the municipal offices of the township located about 100 kilometres southwest of downtown Ottawa. Whether to upgrade existing offices or build new ones is the source of a long-running and acrimonious dispute that has divided the council. Opposing factions have levelled more than a dozen integrity commissioner complaints against each other. The existing offices are located in the hamlet of Chantry and require upgrading. Hoogenboom is in favour of relocating the facilities to a more populated area, and believes this measure could facilitate the development of a subdivision. But a majority of council members oppose the idea as too expensive, preferring to renovate existing offices. In March, Hoogenboom said the atmosphere had grown so toxic that he was temporarily stepping away from some of his duties. But that didn't stop him last Monday from vetoing a decision by his opponents to send a retrofit and addition plan for the existing municipal offices out to tender. 'So much bigger than the issues in Rideau Lakes' To invoke the new powers, mayors are required to give a rationale for how the move aligns with provincial priorities. Hoogenboom justified his veto by referring to provincial priorities to build new homes and maintain infrastructure, and said he retained the backing of the local community. "In the last election I received a significant mandate from the public to build a municipal office," he said in an interview. "I'm totally convinced that if there was any public consultation on this, the public would clearly indicate that they were in favour of my option." But Paula Banks, one of five councillors opposed to Hoogenboom, said using the strong mayor powers was undemocratic. "It's a five-three vote and he was allowed to stop us," she said. "This story is so much bigger than the issues in Rideau Lakes." On May 1, mayors in 169 Ontario municipalities were given the power to veto bylaws, pass others with just a third of council in favour and fire and hire municipal department heads. The measures were first introduced in 2022 for the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa, as a way to advance provincial policy priorities. Powers 'undemocratic' But the measures have proven controversial. Banks said she is reaching out to the other municipalities recently awarded strong mayor powers and said most she has heard from are against them. "The majority of municipalities oppose this," she said. "Our mayors are saying it's a bad idea, our councillors are saying it's undemocratic and the Ford government is just ignoring it." Banks said she hopes to build a coalition to lobby Premier Doug Ford to rescind the provisions. In Rideau Lakes, Banks and her four allies passed a resolution at council opposing strong mayor powers and asking to opt out. Hoogenboom was absent from the vote. After Hoogenboom used his new powers, those five councillors sought to defeat their use but lacked the two-thirds majority needed to do so. That has left the divided council unable to proceed on a course of action, Hoogenboom said. "We're still a bit hamstrung," he said, acknowledging that his "mandate is severely compromised." In the meantime, a decision on what to do about the township's municipal offices will likely have to wait until after elections next year, according to Hoogenboom. "When there's a good chance that there would be more people who would be willing to row in the same direction," he said.

Could much of eastern Ontario become a dark-sky preserve? One group hopes so
Could much of eastern Ontario become a dark-sky preserve? One group hopes so

CBC

time19-05-2025

  • CBC

Could much of eastern Ontario become a dark-sky preserve? One group hopes so

It's a massive undertaking, but two men are hoping to turn much of eastern Ontario into a dark-sky preserve — and they're leaning into astrotourism, something they say has been a growing trend since the pandemic. Dark-sky preserves are considered protected areas that try to reduce light pollution and preserve the night sky for animals, insects and plants that rely on it. With that comes astrotourism, where people venture to those areas to see objects in the night sky that aren't visible in cities. "I call it covert environmentalism, but under the hood, it does wonders for people, wilderness, butterflies, bats," said John Criswick, who started the NWNC Dark-Sky Project (which stands for Narrows Lock, Westport, Newboro and Chaffeys Lock) and has been working to get that smaller region declared a preserve through Dark Sky International. They feel that going with that organization, versus the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada — which has certified numerous other preserves in the country — would provide more tourism attention internationally. It also wouldn't be the first in the region to be certfied by DarkSky International, as Mont Tremblant in western Quebec became certified a few years ago. Their undertaking doesn't stop there, however. Within the next few years, they hope to expand the project to cover a roughly 42,000 square-kilometre area that includes about 75 towns and townships and more than half a million residents in eastern Ontario. "It would make it one of the largest dark-sky preserves in Canada," said Criswick. That area would stretch from Cornwall to Hawkesbury, through to Petawawa, Bancroft, Algonquin Provincial Park and down Highway 401. It would exclude municipalities with populations greater than about seven thousand people. While Criswick said it's more of an educational campaign, they'd like to see regulations brought in by municipalities that would cover the types of lights used outside — for instance, a more yellow-red hue for street lamps rather than bright white. That's part of the challenge, Criswick said, as they're up against a growing problem in Canada and around the world — light pollution. 2% of night sky lost every year "One of the biggest things is the cheapness of LED lights," said Bernie Hasselman, part of the light pollution abatement committee with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. "Bright white gives off a lot of blue light and blue light is ... a serotonin inhibitor. So it prevents a lot of the ability for people to get the rest that they need." It's also a growing problem. The world, Hasselman said, is losing about two per cent of the night sky every year to light pollution, a problem that didn't really exist much more than 100 years ago. People who live in urban centres, he said, likely have never seen a truly dark sky unless they've ventured into the country at night. "They've never seen the Milky Way unless they've gone out camping," he said. "It's amazing how fast your eyes can be adjusted to darkness in about 10 minutes," Hasselman added. "But one flash of a flashlight and boom, you're back to starting all over." How to reduce light pollution Part of the initiative involves helping eastern Ontarians understand what light pollution is, and how to reduce it. "If you need some lights to be able to get safely down your steps or get out to your dock, great. If you want to have some lights in your garden, that's great," said Dustin Johnston, who's working with Criswick on the dark-sky project. There are small tweaks, however, that anyone can do, he added. "You can have [those lights] shielded or facing down or have them not super bright. You can have them on the amber spectrum." Before labelling much of the eastern Ontario region a dark-sky preserve, they're aiming toward holding a "dark week" in May 2026 — the 200th anniversary of the start of the construction of the Rideau Canal. "It's interesting to live here and be in eastern Ontario, in this region. It's pristine, it's beautiful. It's dark. It has all those attributes," said Criswick. "We're not really asking anyone to do anything, it's just going forward." Criswick and Johnston are holding a festival in Perth, Ont., on Saturday.

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