Durham Regional Council yesterday started dismantling legacy procedures ahead of the arrival of the appointed Region Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Bill 100, the Better Regional Governance Act, which on May 7 received Royal Assent, eliminates the election for the Office of Regional Chair, replacing it with an Ontario Premier appointee.
The elimination of the election negates the need for a Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee (CAC) for the region. Regional council had previously approved the terms of reference for a CAC at its meeting on February 25.
The terms of reference, as they pertain to the region, can now be repealed, said a staff report.
Strong Powers
Bill 100 also proposes to extend to the regional chair the existing “strong” powers, including the power to establish committees of regional council. Appointments to regional council’s standing committees are typically done at the inaugural meeting, but the committee structure may not be known by that time as the appointed regional chair will have the power to propose a different committee structure, the report pointed out.
Given this uncertainty, the report recommended that the regional clerk be granted authority to determine the agenda for the inaugural meeting of regional council scheduled for November 25.
The council carried the motion to adopt the two resolutions above at its May 27 meeting:
- That the terms of reference for the region’s Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee be repealed, and that the other participating bodies on the joint CAC be so advised; and
- That the regional clerk be authorized to determine the agenda for the first (inaugural) meeting of regional council for the 2026 to 2030 term.