Come To Think Of It

Aurora is a ward. We are a ward within the Region of York. We have one representative. How much do we know of what's going on up there?

Are Regional Council Meetings televised? Does anyone care?

During my reading week, I absorbed the transcript from the first Municipal Board Hearing on the Westhill Development Application. I learned the application had been processed through
Regional Planning . The department recommended approval to the Region's Planning and Economic Development Committee.

The committee accepted and recommended approval to Regional Council. Regional Council approved the recommendation.

It occurred to me to wonder, since we hadn't heard, and considering the opposition to the proposal at our level, led by the Mayor, what position our regional rep(the Mayor) had taken on the issue at the Region?

As it turns out, Mayor Morris is a member of the regional planning committee. Attendance was noted when the application was approved for recommendation to the Regional Council. No opposition was noted .

Absence was noted at the subsequent Regional Council Meeting, where the application was once again approved.

A Regional staff person attended the Ontario Municipal Board Hearing. He did not ask for status. He was there as an observer.

Legal counsel for the developer noted regional approval.

We receive a regular Regional Report from our Regional representative (the Mayor)

From time to time, we hear vehement opposition from our Regional Representative(the Mayor) to what the Public School Board is contemplating or deciding.

We are currently before the Ontario Municipal Board on an appeal from the Separate School Board on the amount of Cash in Lieu of Parks they paid "under protest"

We were almost before the Board on a refusal to grant permission to build on land they had assembled for the purpose of building a beautiful new high school.

We frequently hear negative comments about the incompetence of the Ontario Municipal Board at the table

All from the same source.

But we didn't hear a dicky bird of opposition to the Region's decision to approve Westhill's Application.

Although our Regional Representative (the Mayor)is a member of Regional Planning Committee and of course, Regional Council.

Our representative is on record as committed to additional representation for Aurora at the Region.

While at the same time, there is no representation at all when our representative fails to attend

So...we don't need to await the Toronto election to make a judgement about merits or lack thereoff of a ward system.

We have our own experience. At the Region. With a single Representative. Who takes one position at the region and a different one at the local level.