In a recent Facebook reel, Premier Tim Houston spoke above the tag line that he will always stand up for Nova Scotians and fight for what matters most. He cites the displeasure of those who travel to Halifax with the traffic situation in the Capital city. He speaks of a serious disconnect between serving the needs and aspirations of the citizens of HRM and the actions of HRM council with regard to traffic management on a particular street in central Halifax.
.png)
A review of the 2024 Nova Scotia General Election results shows the success of Houston’s PC’s in most of the Province. Urban Areas of HRM and CBRM voted for parties in opposition to the government. The claim of the Premier to speak with more concern for the people than their elected HRM councillors in these areas is less credible when the election results are considered. When the legitimacy of elected representatives is questioned, particularly in those in high population areas, the threat to democracy is salient.
The threat that a mechanism to overrule decisions by elected representatives through establishment of a “strong mayor” with power to overrule and hire or fire municipal employees may create a scenario where political support or connections of the “strong mayor” to other layers of provincial or federal administrations may be an anti-democratic path to realise political objectives impacting urban citizens in a manner not approved by their elected councillors.
An article by Lyndsay Armstrong of the The Canadian Press suggests that some Halifax councillors are worried about “strong-mayor” powers that may be coming. Tom Urbaniak, a political scientist at Cape Breton University, comments that the province would be wise to wait and see how stronger mayoral authority plays out in Ontario municipalities before following suit.
“In our world today, where democracy is very much at risk, I’m going to respectfully advise caution about major (government) restructuring that was not on the agenda when people last voted,” (Armstrong, n.d.)
“It’s sort of like a mini American presidency, but actually with less congressional oversight. So we need to be very, very careful,” (Armstrong, n.d.)
Armstrong reports that Premier Houston said Thursday he is both “looking at” the possibility of strong-mayor powers and considering using a bill that has passed — but not yet entered into force — to overrule Halifax council’s recent decision to move ahead with a bike lane on a south-end city street. Armstrong notes that Councillor Sam Austin presented the motion and told council that a move toward strong-mayor powers would undermine councillors’ ability to adequately represent their constituents. Austin said putting so much power into one person’s hands is “deeply problematic,” and Councillor Janet Steele said strong-mayor powers could mute the other voices on council. Steele is reported as saying during the meeting on Thursday”
“It’s moving towards almost authoritarianism, it’s not the way we want to go. These are slippery slopes. I for one don’t want to be sliding down that slope,” Steele said during the meeting on Thursday. (Armstrong, n.d.)
We need only look to the republic to the south to see the negative consequences when political leaders refuse to “stay in their lane” and attempt to enforce their political agenda in areas that are the democratic responsibility of other components of our democracy.
References
Armstrong, L. (n.d.). Strong-mayor powers and why some Halifax councillors are worried it could be coming. Global News | Breaking, Latest News and Video for Canada. Retrieved July 15, 2025, from https://globalnews.ca/news/11287363/halifax-strong-mayor-powers/
No comments:
Post a Comment