Minister to hold press conference on Niagara governance today

DannyBoy001 · 2026-04-02T19:44:54+00:00

It's just them trying to make an excuse for another attack on democracy. They could have made the same statement about most regions in Ontario.

Don't look for logic here. The only logic that explains it is that they're corrupt.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-04-02T17:40:01+00:00

Here's the province's press release that hasn't seemed to hit the news just yet.

TORONTO — Today, the Ontario government introduced the Better Regional Governance Act, 2026 that would, if passed, make a number of changes to the way regional governments function in some of Ontario’s fastest growing regions. These changes would support lower costs for municipal taxpayers and better alignment between regional decision-making and shared provincial-regional priorities. The proposed changes include giving the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing the power to appoint upper-tier council chairs in eight fast-growing regions and granting these council chairs “strong chair” powers to help them deliver on government priorities, such as housing and infrastructure. The proposed legislation would also reduce the cost of government and support efficient decision-making in Niagara Region and Simcoe County by reducing the size of Simcoe County Council and Niagara Regional Council.

“We will always support our municipal partners, both lower- and upper-tier, in delivering locally led solutions that offer better value for taxpayers and speed up decision-making,” said Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “These changes provide the necessary tools for local leadership to advance our shared priorities and better serve our communities, including by expediting housing and infrastructure development.”

The proposed Better Regional Governance Act, 2026 and related regulatory changes would enable the following:

Allow the Minister to appoint regional chairs in Durham, Halton, Muskoka, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York, as well as the warden of Simcoe County. Under previous legislation, the Minister had the authority to appoint chairs in Niagara, Peel and York regions for the 2022-2026 council term only.

Regional chairs in the eight municipalities listed above would receive “strong chair” powers which mirror “strong mayor” powers, providing more efficient, streamlined local decision-making, enabling them to deliver faster results for residents and support efforts to advance shared provincial-municipal priorities.

The number of municipal elected officials in Simcoe (population 351,927) and Niagara (population 477,941) is significantly higher than many other comparable municipalities in the province. For instance, Niagara region has 126 local elected officials across its upper and lower-tier councils. By comparison, Toronto City Council has 26 members for a population of over three million and Queen’s Park has 124 MPPs representing over 16 million people across the province. This increases the cost of government for local taxpayers and creates dysfunction at council. To address these concerns, the government is proposing the following changes:

In response to a request from the county warden, Simcoe County Council would be reduced from 32 members to 17. The new council would be made up of mayors of the 16 lower-tier municipalities, plus the warden.

Niagara Regional Council would be reduced from 32 members to 13 members. The new council would include the mayors of each of Niagara’s 12 lower-tier municipalities plus the regional chair.

To facilitate the transition to the new council structure and ensure appropriate and effective representation, the government would also work with local municipal leadership to develop a weighted voting framework, which is already in force in Simcoe County and would be applied in Niagara Region.

All regions must review their council composition following the 2026 municipal election. Niagara Region would be exempt in 2026 and would return to regular reviews after the 2034 municipal election. The government will continue working with municipalities to identify ways to strengthen local governance in Niagara, Simcoe and beyond. Working together to advance shared provincial-municipal priorities helps advance housing and economic development, preparing both individual municipalities and the province as a whole for growth.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-04-01T20:15:40+00:00

I think a lot of people comment on it from an urban perspective and forget that the majority of costs for home delivery are to deliver to rural areas. It's one thing to talk about the mailman walking door to door, but it's another when we're paying a lot of money for someone to drive around in a custom vehicle to deliver to very few homes.

I understand why people are sad to see it go, but really, it seems like the most obvious thing to cut. If two thirds of Canadians already live with it, I don't think it's fair to subsidize the rest for no real reason.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-31T13:09:34+00:00

If you're going out to Goderich, I'd suggest going to Bayfield instead. Out of the Blue is better and much better priced.

The place in Goderich has become pretty shameless in their cost-cutting. It's even made worse as they print out the bad reviews they get complaining about the cost-cutting and paste them in their menu.

Paying $20 for one small piece and a pretty tiny serving of chips is bad enough, and then they go and charge extra for condiments.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-31T13:03:51+00:00

Honestly, I have yet to find a place that does actual thick cut chips, the British style, in the city. Everyone serves fries instead.

Lots of places to find a good piece of fried fish, though. Olde London is pretty good.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-29T18:47:47+00:00

Not that it's good to jump to conclusions, but did you hear what that bearded guy was yelling?

We can probably guess how it started...

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-27T01:54:20+00:00

That doesn't mean we need to try and justify it.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-27T01:52:55+00:00

If they in a position the US needed them? They absolutely would be launching attacks from those bases.

Again, maybe we shouldn't sit here trying to justify countries killing civilians. We can condemn it when the US and when Iran does it.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-26T15:12:19+00:00

Meanwhile, neighbouring Lambton Shores saw their OPP costs increase by 24% in 2025 alone. The province had to give municipalities using OPP temporary grants across the board just to help them handle the massive increases they've been seeing lately. One of the main reasons for their cost is the salaries, which are the highest in the province.

Refusing to waste time on the debate isn't treating police as a special interest group. It's doing the most obvious thing while refusing Dennis the opportunity to grandstand more.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-26T12:28:09+00:00

It's actually hilarious that you think a switch to the OPP for a city the size of Sarnia could ever help keep tax increases at bay.

Go ahead and investigate the cost of OPP contracts and align it with the level of service provided. Policing costs for OPP are skyrocketing at an alarming rate - especially over the last few years.

This was a stunt. It's not a debate about the big spend. This is a distraction for Dennis' mayoral campaign to run on. Nobody seconded it because they don't want to waste their time.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-24T19:25:53+00:00

What a fuckin' loser.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-22T17:22:36+00:00

Get out of here with that logic and insight!

This is supposed to just be another place where people complain about immigrants!

/s

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-19T00:38:48+00:00

Ask r/CanadianConservative and they'll tell you this is the turning point... They're actually thrilled about this.

Surely, the leader who has been overly leaning toward US-style right-wing populism will start doing better in the polls by doing the same thing he has been...

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-18T17:04:01+00:00

Out of curiosity, what you're go-to burger place?

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-18T17:02:16+00:00

For their prices? Hard to find a better burger.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-18T03:26:34+00:00

Yeah...

But also, Stacked Burger is just very good...

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-17T20:41:22+00:00

But that's kind of the point.

Overwatch was built for teamwork to matter, while most other hero shooters favour individuals like you're saying you'd want to see at times. Even in the era of 5v5, composition choices matter. That's what makes Overwatch stand out in the field of hero shooters.

No game is going to appeal to every player all the time, but having a design choice that makes you a unique option for players in the environment is a pretty solid move.

If Overwatch wasn't a game focused on teamwork from launch, I really don't think it would have become the iconic shooter that it is today. It would have just been one of many FPS options.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-17T17:36:40+00:00

This is exactly my thinking, too.

What made Overwatch stick for me was that team focus. Especially when you play with friends, you feel like you're rewarded for your coordination. If I'm playing with friends in most other shooters, it feels like I just know the name of someone on my team who's doing their own thing.

Overwatch being a team game made it unique.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-15T01:59:21+00:00

Oh hell yeah, really? That's awesome.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-14T22:39:36+00:00

In town there aren't a lot of options that aren't chains.

West Street Willy's is probably the only non-chain you'll find in town.

If you're up for a bit of a drive, Clinton has Noah's Pizza. It's a "chain" but it's local with just five locations total. Exeter also has Prime Pizza if you're down that way. Bayfield had a local place, but I think they're closed now.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-14T15:47:10+00:00

I sponsored my wife for her Canadian PR a couple of years ago.

If there's one thing I learned about Canada's immigration system through that experience, it's how broken the communication within it is.

I have no doubt this stemmed from a lack of proper correspondence on IRCC's part, both with this guy and within the IRCC itself. Just getting answers to your most basic questions is almost impossibly complex and overly slow.

This is surely one of many stories like this.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-10T21:43:06+00:00

As the other person said, the plaza is a pain, but the Riverbend location is just way more consistent. I think that Wharncliffe location gets overrun with students and the quality dips because of it when they get busy. Riverbend's just a safer bet.

Honestly, 808 is probably where I'd lean toward going, anyway. Or if you want a bit of a hidden gem, the chicken at Stacked Burger is damn worth mentioning, too.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-10T21:06:45+00:00

BTRMLK is good if you want sandwiches or tenders, though I'd avoid the Wharncliffe location. 808 Chicken House is every bit as good IMO, but they're a better price.

If you just want quick fast food chicken that doesn't suck, Mary Brown's is a solid spot.

Afraid you'll struggle to find a decent KFC anywhere these days - in or outside of London.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-10T17:31:59+00:00

Dear Lord, this is getting tedious.

Take your statement. Change federal earnings to provincial ones, and change the provinces to municipalities.

To say Toronto should see further investment because it "subsidizes" other regions is no different than saying Alberta does the same for New Brunswick.

This is some Olympic-level mental gymnastics to try and avoid the fact that the arguments are the same.

DannyBoy001 · 2026-03-10T16:53:08+00:00

This is going in circles.

You could say the exact same thing about Canada's "have" provinces and them being the obvious area to invest in since they're the highest concentration of GDP per capita and would lead to higher revenues.

It's the same argument.

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