The councillors up at Pitlockery
Believed in the creed of ad hocery
They farmed all decisions to boards and commissions,
And so made their council a mockery
A further complication identified in the article already cited, is that the removal of the regional level of government will mean that the province will now have to approve many more official plans from (former) lower tier municipalities. As a result, the provision of housing is likely to be a more complex and slower process, even though the province claims that the municipal restructuring will speed up housing approvals.
Let me conclude this short blog with a poor imitation of Dr. Mayo.
There was a Premier named Ford
Who preferred the appointed board
He would remove the elected upper tier
With consequences we should fear
His attack on local democracy should be deplored
[i] Jeff Gray, “Ontario’s plan to dissolve Peel reflects shift away from regionalism, experts say,” Globe and Mail, May 29, 2023.