Wayne Gates
Special to The Lake Report

I have heard loud and clear from residents across our region: people want a government that works, that is accountable, that is efficient and respectful of ratepayers, and that respects the voices and uniqueness of our communities.

And this is why I have serious concerns about the province’s direction on regional governance, including and especially the idea of an appointed, unelected regional chair with expanded “strong mayor” powers.

Let’s call this what it is: a step backward for local democracy.

The minister and the premier’s office are pushing forward these changes, such as limiting local voices and appointing unelected chairs with strong mayor powers, all over Ontario. Under newly introduced legislation, the province will have the ability to appoint regional chairs in Durham, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Waterloo and York as well as Niagara.

In communities like Niagara-on-the-Lake, people take pride in being engaged, informed, and involved.
They can directly elect councillors who understand the unique balance this town requires.

That includes local priorities like protecting farmland, managing tourism, ensuring an aging population has access to health care, and preserving heritage while planning for the future. That local knowledge matters.

But a huge factor in this equation is accountability. If you don’t like the decisions your representatives are making, you can vote them out.

You can’t do that with an appointed chair.

That’s the fundamental problem here.

An unelected regional chair, potentially granted sweeping executive powers, would have enormous influence over budgets and development decisions that affect every corner of Niagara-on-the-Lake without ever having to face voters.

That should concern everyone.

This unelected, appointed chair will also be put into power at the discretion of the Premier’s office at Queen’s Park. We’ve seen now what meddling from Queen’s Park looks like in practice in Niagara.

It led to Niagara being thrown into weeks of chaos earlier this spring, with an underdeveloped plan (to put it mildly) to potentially amalgamate municipalities with no data or business case to back it up.

We’ve already seen what “strong mayor” powers look like in other municipalities: authority concentrated in one office, the ability to override council decisions, and less room for debate.

Now imagine that model applied at the regional level, covering 12 municipalities with very different needs.
And when power is centralized like this, smaller communities, like NOTL, lose out.

I’ve heard the argument that this is about efficiency — that fewer decision-makers and stronger executive authority will speed things up. But faster decisions aren’t always better decisions, especially when they come at the expense of transparency and public trust.

Democracy can be messy. It can take time. But that process is exactly what ensures decisions reflect the people they impact.

What worries me most is that this change feels disconnected from what Niagara residents are actually asking for. People want improvements, yes. They want less duplication, better coordination and smarter use of tax dollars.

But they’re not asking to give up their voice in the process. In fact, they’re asking for the opposite.

They want more say, not less. More transparency, not less. More accountability, not less.
And that’s why I’ve been clear: any governance reform in Niagara must be locally driven and democratically accountable.

We can look at ways to modernize the system, but those changes must be locally made. Not made from Toronto-based appointments.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, and all of Niagara, deserves better than that.

We deserve a system where leaders are chosen by the people, answer to the people and can be replaced by the people.

Wayne Gates is the member of provincial parliament for the Niagara Falls riding.