Doug Ford’s decision to cancel the election for Muskoka’s district chair is holding firm.
This morning, a Toronto-area judge ruled the premier was crossing a line when he moved to cut the city’s council from 47 to 25 wards through Bill 5. That same bill removed the possibility to publicly elect a chair for four regional municipalities in Ontario including Muskoka.
Last June, District of Muskoka councillors voted in favour of the public election method over having council select the district chair in-house. Three people had registered to run as district chair candidates before the nomination period closed at the end of July. This included incumbent John Klinck, former chair Gord Adams and former Huntsville Mayor Hugh Mackenzie. When registration for candidacy closed, Doug Ford announced his decision to cancel the chair election process, stating residents and taxpayers didn’t need another layer of politicians and dysfunction.
According to District of Muskoka officials, the judge’s ruling to reverse Ford’s legislation in Toronto does not include the changes to regional chair selection. The district will continue with the plan to have councillors select the district chair on December 10th.
Voting for district councillors will run during municipal elections on October 22nd.
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Premier Doug Ford Cancels Election Of Muskoka District Chair