Opposition MPPs say the government announced its strong-mayor legislation without properly running it by the municipalities it would affect.

In a committee meeting Thursday morning, NDP municipal affairs critic Jeff Burch said the process demonstrated the Ford government's "disdain for local democracy," noting that Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said he found out about it through the media.

"We're starting to hear from mayors all over Ontario and many of them are saying, big city mayors especially, that they have not been consulted and that they're not in favour of it," said Burch, who was a St. Catharines councillor for eight years.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said he's consulted a lot with mayors and regional chairs about housing in general.

Ontario has 444 municipalities, noted Clark, who also has a long history in local politics. "At any given time, I'm going to have mayors that are going to support an initiative or an idea and mayors that don't."

The Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act will give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa far more power. Instead of being just another vote on council, they can create budgets, re-jig staff and departments, and veto council decisions. Councils will be able to veto a mayor's veto with a two-thirds majority.

READ MORE: Toronto and Ottawa set to get ‘strong mayors’ this year

Premier Doug Ford has said he plans to expand it to other municipalities soon.

Some mayors, like Fred Eisenberger of Hamilton, have said the bill won't do much to solve the housing crisis. As Burch noted, Toronto Mayor John Tory hasn't lost a significant housing vote during his eight-year tenure.

"Apart from the bill's title, there's really nothing in the bill about building homes," Burch said, noting that it wouldn't force a NIMBY council to support housing projects.

The government also hasn't moved on the more significant recommendations of its Housing Affordability Task Force that would increase supply, like as-of-right zoning, increased density requirements and provincewide design rules.

READ MORE: AMO 2022: Doug Ford says more homes will end the housing crisis ‘full stop.’ Experts say that’s not enough.

Pressed on the issue later on Thursday, Clark promised reporters the new Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team, led by Ford-supporting Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, will work "diligently" in the fall.

Not every mayor wants to build the right kind of housing, Liberal MPP and former Toronto councillor Mary Margaret McMahon said.

"So are you assuming that these mayors ... are going to be pushing for duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes in residential areas, semi-detached homes ... addressing the missing middle?" she asked.

Clark said it's important to build missing middle housing like the examples McMahon gave, but didn't address the concern about mayors' personal preferences.

When the bill was first announced, Ford denied it had anything to do with housing. The premier has been a fan of strong-mayor systems in U.S. cities for years.

"For once, I'd say the premier told the truth," interim NDP leader Peter Tabuns said.

Opposition grills Clark on lack of strong mayors consultation

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