Town of Oakville
Mayor stopping to chat with volunteers of We Love Oakville at Midnight Madness
Burton's signing on to pro-growth initiatives like the pledge to build 33,000 housing units after promising to control growth might lead some to view him as a chameleon, a man without principle who adapts to whatever circumstances present themselves with the sole aim of self-preservation.
Turning up at Liberal party events when they held power, then making personal donations to both the Liberals and the PCs when they control government, and giving out keys to the town, all these could be characterized as unprincipled sycophancy.
To those who would so describe him, the mayor responds: "My principles are the success and defence of Oakville. To do that, I engage and expand: engage with the people in power and expand our influence with them to the best of my ability." Under the Liberals, he points out, the Places to Grow plan and the gas plant came down as edicts with no consultation.
The recent development charges discounts and exemptions, which mean new facilities and infrastructure will draw more on tax revenue than in the past unless the province compensates us, are a case in point.
The mayor has publicly praised the premier for his commitment to ensuring the municipality will be made whole for the loss of development charge revenues. This is astute positioning. For Doug Ford to renege on that commitment would be a very public and damaging move.
"I can read. Under the Constitution and the Ontario Municipal Act, the province is the absolute master of the municipalities."
Burton elaborates that the very existence of Oakville can be ended without consultation with the municipal levels of government. We could be amalgamated into a city of Halton or a city of Halton Peel, or even become a neighbourhood of Mississauga.
In 2019, we were very nearly rolled up into the City of Halton. Only a massive campaign against it initiated by the mayor and executed with passion by the We Love Oakville grassroots organization persuaded the Ford government to abandon the idea.
"I want Oakville to survive," he emphasizes. If a level of government is to be eliminated, for example, the town should be the level left standing and take over the services currently supplied by the region.
"Let's remember, until 1972, Oakville did all those things itself quite well. We were yoked together with the north of Halton to help them modernize and grow," he said.
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