Muskoka chair says early regional review talks not ‘confrontational’

Early discussions suggest review could lead to changes in regional council composition and municipal planning services, says regional chair

Yorkregion.com
March 13, 2019
Alison Brownlee

The Ontario government’s special advisers for a regional government review have come and gone in Muskoka.

John Klinck, chair for the District of Muskoka, said he met with Michael Fenn and Ken Seiling when they visited Muskoka on Feb. 20.

“It wasn’t confrontational in any respect, although there were times when they asked questions for clarity, or offered an alternative and asked for some input on that,” said Klinck.

The special advisers met with the region’s six area municipal mayors individually, as well.

The pair also visited Peel, Halton, Durham, York, Waterloo, Niagara, Oxford and Simcoe before they submit recommendations on regional government service delivery and accessibility, reduction in duplication and cost savings to the province in summer 2019.

Klinck said his and district chief administrative officer Michael Duben’s one-hour interview with Fenn and Seiling included discussions on governance, council representation, shared services, and personal observations and future visions for the region.

The chair said he also offered information on the impact of the district’s 2011-15 services review, as well as information on the district’s council composition review and recent recommendations from an ad hoc committee that included a reduction in the regional council’s size.

Klinck, when asked whether he anticipated any major changes or significant restructuring to regional governance after meeting with Fenn and Seiling, said he did not.

“They made it very clear that the ministry and the provincial government have not entered the process with any preconceived notions,” Klinck said.

But Klinck did note one apprehension.

“The only concern I have is that these types of things create a lot of angst. Nobody is quite sure what might happen, and that causes a ripple of consternation,” he said. “And you would hope that it wouldn’t interfere with ensuring that what needs to be done gets done, and that this process isn’t used as an excuse to put off things that need to be done.”

So what could the review lead to?

Klinck noted there were a few questions about municipal planning service responsibilities across various levels of government.

“And I’m led to believe there was some correspondence sent out … from the ministry suggesting that significant changes to planning policy and functions should be put on hold for the time being, which I find rather interesting,” he said.

And he said discussion during Premier Doug Ford's visit to Muskoka, in early March, seemed to hint at further amendments to regional governance here.

“He put an exclamation mark on the size of council and the number of elected officials in certain municipalities, and he felt it was something that would be given consideration in the review,” Klinck said.

Muskoka has 51 elected councillors across its six area municipalities, and 22 of them also sit on district council, which critics have said is too many for a permanent population of 60,600. Some councillors, however, have argued that particular population statistic doesn’t take into account the estimated 81,900 seasonal residents also represented by area municipal and district councillors.

The province’s regional government review continues. An online portal to collect comment from the public is expected to launch in the spring.