Ontario decision to appoint regional chairs with strong powers a 'serious attack' on democracy: Niagara MPP

Ford government adds power to cut more Niagara councils to strong-chair bill

Opposition MPP calls municipal changes ‘political experiment that was written on the back of a napkin’

Ontario decision to appoint regional chairs with strong powers a 'serious attack' on democracy: Niagara MPP

Ontario's municipal affairs minister and opposition MPPs from Niagara squared off on Tuesday over plans by the province to directly appoint chairs of regional governments in eight Ontario regions, and to give them so-called 'strong chair' powers similar to powers the province has given to some mayors.

A NIAGARA AT LARGE SPECIAL – Niagara  Activist Calls On Ont. Legislative Committee To ‘Discard Deeply Flawed, Undemocratic Bill’ That Would Allow Ford Gov. To Appoint Regional Chair & Gut Regional Council

“People are looking to the south and seeing what happens when democracy is corroded, one pillar at a time, and they are not going to quietly go along with the same thing happening in this province.” – Liz Benneian, resident of Lincoln and head of the region-wide citizens coalition, A Better Niagara News from Niagara resident Liz Benneian Posted April 30th, 2026 on Niagara At Large Niagara citizen activist and head of the region-wide citizens coa…