The Independence of Municipal Councils in Ontario

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to survey the trends in the history of local government in Ontario which are gradually eliminating independence or self-government from municipal councils in Ontario. We are not here as much concerned with considering the desirability or otherwise of these trends as with recording the facts of the situation. Whether for better or for worse, the municipal councils in Ontario, as local self-governing units, have been, and are continuing to be, more and more restricted and circumscribed. They are becoming merely agents for other local units of government and for the central provincial government. The various aspects of this situation will be considered under the following headings, namely: (1) the establishment of subsidiary or auxiliary boards of varying degrees of independence; (2) imposition of obligatory and uncontrollable expenditure and the elimination of sources of revenue; (3) imposition of restrictions on control of municipal officials and employees; (4) the development of the Ontario Municipal Board; (5) establishment of the Department of Municipal Affairs; (6) municipal subsidies.In general, the activities of a modern municipal government fall into two main classes-legislative and administrative. Of these, the first is of relatively minor importance. The second is essential to the everyday life of the individual, particularly of the urban dweller. As it is not possible, in the space available, to deal with all types of municipal government in the Province, this paper will be limited to a survey of the situation as it applies to the larger urban municipalities where the problem is most acute.