Council supports regional by-law to increase Halton Regional Council size

Tue, 20 Sep 2016

Council passed a resolution on September 20, 2016, in support of the recently approved Region of Halton By-law 69-16, a by-law to change the size and composition of Halton Regional Council by increasing regional representation for the Town of Oakville and the Town of Milton.

Approval for regional representation changes requires satisfaction of the “triple majority” criteria as outlined in the Municipal Act. This means that a majority of Regional Council plus a majority of the lower-tier councils (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton) must pass a resolution providing consent to Halton Region By-law 69-16.

“Council has made a prudent decision in passing this resolution,” Mayor Rob Burton said. “Expanding Oakville’s ward boundary system is essential to ensure Oakville’s growing population has fair, effective representation in Town Hall and at the Region.”

At its May 30, 2016 meeting, Council unanimously voted to move forward on changing the town’s ward boundary system, pending an increase to Regional Council’s representation. Currently there are six wards in Oakville, with one local and one regional Councillor per ward, reflecting a Town Council of 12 Councillors plus Mayor. An additional Regional Council seat for Oakville means the town’s wards will increase from six to seven and change Council’s composition from 12 to 14 Councillors plus Mayor. To accommodate the new seventh ward, adjustments will be made to all existing ward boundaries, with the exception of Ward 3, with the new boundaries to be used for the 2018 municipal election.

A report and by-laws to establish the new ward boundaries and increase the size of Town Council will go forward to Council for final approval later this fall.

Residents are invited to review the new ward boundary map by visiting the Ward Boundary page. Questions or comments can be sent to the Clerk’s department via email at wardboundary@oakville.ca or by mail to:

Town of Oakville – Clerk’s department
1225 Trafalgar Road
Oakville ON L6H 0H3

For more information, access the staff report included in the September 19, 2016 Council meeting agenda.