Setting the agenda: Ontario Premier sends mandate letters

NRU
Oct. 1, 2014

Last week Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne sent mandate letters to her cabinet, outlining key priorities for the next four years. While Wynne is not the first premier to send out mandate letters, she is the first to release them publicly.

Thirty letters were released as part of Wynne’s Open Government Initiative, which aims to make the government more transparent. The letters are collaborative in nature, as ministers have been directed to work together on priorities such as poverty reduction, skills training, building modern infrastructure and growing the economy.

Municipal Affairs and Housing minister Ted McMeekin’s priorities include improving affordable housing and land use planning, improving partnerships with municipal governments, protecting the environment and agricultural lands and reviewing provincial plans.

The mandate letter outlines the ministry’s role in a number of upcoming reviews, including the Growth Plan, Greenbelt Plan, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, Niagara Escarpment Plan, Municipal Elections Act, Planning Act and Ontario Building Code. MAH will also be leading a review of the Ontario Municipal Board, working with Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur to improve the role of the board in land use planning.

A review of the Municipal Elections Act following the 2014 municipal elections will provide municipalities the option of using ranked ballots, instead of the first-past-the-post system, in future elections.

McMeekin has also been directed to work with Community and Social Services minister Helena Jaczek to review the government’s Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy and work towards the goal of ending homelessness.

Transportation minister Steve Del Duca has been directed to support the 10-year transit and transportation strategy Moving Ontario Forward to build better public transportation in cities and better roads in towns, rural and remote communities. This will include transforming GO transit into a regional express rail with 15-minute, two-way electrified service over the next 10 years, creating a seamless fare system in the GTHA, implementing high-occupancy toll lanes and investing in highway rehabilitation and expansion projects. Del Duca will also lead the 2016 review of the Metrolinx Act.

Del Duca has also been directed to strengthen road safety through the continuation of the #CycleON strategy and addressing areas of safety concern such as pedestrian and truck safety, driver distraction and impaired driving.

Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure minister Brad Duguid’s mandate is to build a strong, diversified economy, ensure the economic recovery is felt by all Ontarians and coordinate the province’s investment in infrastructure. This includes continuing the implementation of the Ontario Youth Jobs Strategy, meeting accessibility goals by 2025 and working to pass Bill 6, the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act.

Duguid will lead the development of the long-term infrastructure plan through collaboration with other ministers. He will also launch the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, a new permanent initiative that will invest $100-million per year into roads, highways and water infrastructure projects in the province’s small and mid-sized communities.

Wynne has directed Finance minister Charles Sousa to create dedicated and substantial funding for public transit and transportation infrastructure. Sousa will work with Duguid, Del Duca and Treasury Board Secretariat Deborah Matthews to establish and report on two dedicated funds and the Trillium Trust, which will make almost $29-billion available for infrastructure projects over the next 10 years.

The mandate letter for Environment and Climate Change minister Glen Murray outlines the ministry’s new focus on developing a long-term climate change strategy. The provincial government’s strategy, which looks forward to 2050, takes an all-of-government approach. Murray has been directed to work with other ministries to take climate change into account in government decision-making processes.

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs minister Jeff Leal has been directed to continue to support the growth of the agri-food sector, ensure the sustainability of agriculture and help develop rural economies. The priorities for Leal include promoting and investing in innovative local food projects, implementing the Farms Forever Program and amending the Crop Insurance Act to cover a broader range of products including livestock and bees.

Leal has also been directed to work with Murray to strengthen pollinator health and reduce neonicotinoid use.

Throughout all the mandate letters, Wynne emphasizes leading from an activist centre and having ministers work collaboratively.

She has also instructed her party to work through the lens of fiscal prudence, as she is committed to balancing the budget by 2017-18.