Let’s examine an example of that old adage that old ideas never really die but are merely re-introduced over the years. Ideas tend to find their legs as the years pass, particularly if those ideas have been put forward by governments.
When we take the time to examine our history, we quite often find the roots of present-day discussions embedded within our past.
To demonstrate this point, we will examine the roots of all the talk about amalgamation and the town’s eventual move to a ward system, an idea initially proposed in the early 1900s but eventually finding its footing locally nearly 80 years later.
Our regional government model was initially introduced in 1971. Prior to this, there had been an historic consensus that the area north of Metropolitan Toronto was best suited for farming and recreation, consisting of a series of small towns and villages.
This plan suffered a rude awakening in the late 1970s when the population of Newmarket reached 30,000 with most forecasts calling for over 60,000 in the coming years.
I can remember what a blow the creation of the Region of York was to the prevailing concept held by most of the population back then that Newmarket and York County was, at its core, still small-town Ontario.
Wishful thinking perhaps but it remains my belief that most people wish that it were still true. In March 1979, it was stated in council by councillor Peter Hall and again by mayor Ray Twinney that the town should and must seek “city” status to enhance its image and to attract more potential industry to the town.
On both occasions the idea was strongly rejected by the Newmarket public who still were under the illusion that we were a rural community and that we could, in fact, hold back the inevitable growth at our door.
A little background information may be useful at this point. Early in 1950, Mayor McCallum of Toronto, wishing to relieve Toronto’s growing tax burden, put forward a proposal to amalgamate the northern part of York County, including Newmarket, with an eye to combining the administration of utilities and services.
This idea had been proposed several times over the years. This idea was strongly opposed locally by reeve Joel Spillette and the idea was defeated on June 19, 1950 in a vote.
As we know, in 1971 the Region of York was formed with the amalgamation of nine municipalities. By the end of the century, the Greater Toronto Area again was proposing an identical scheme of amalgamation to the one they put forward in the 1950s.
By 2000, the threat became a major concern for all the local councils in York and Durham Regions.
When Newmarket was incorporated in 1881, the administration comprised 12 members – a mayor, reeve, deputy reeve and three councillors from each of three wards, named St. Andrew, St. George and St. Patrick. This was to last only until the end of 1898 when the ward system was abandoned and was replaced by a smaller council of seven members with only a mayor and six councillors.
In 1907, the office of reeve was reinstated and, in 1912, a deputy reeve was added to make a council of nine members. This political structure was in place until the Regional Government was introduced in 1971. At this time, our council was altered to comprise the mayor, regional councillor and seven Councillors.
In 1972, 1982, and 1985 and again in 1988, resident Watson Sweezie persistently campaigned locally for the return to a ward system of council. This was most certainly prompted by the enormous population growth we experienced, and it did have some merit, but very little public support in part because the traditional council structure was fulfilling all the needs of the community. In 1992, the Ontario Municipal Board rejected another unsuccessful attempt for change.
The question of a ward system reappeared in December 1996, when John Dowson, chairman of the newly formed Newmarket Citizens for Electoral Reform group presented a 158-name petition to council calling for the division of the town into five wards each consisting of 12,000 to 15,000 voters.
On Jan. 15, 1997, the request was rejected by council on the grounds that it could not be implemented by the next election scheduled in November of that year, and also because the whole issue of amalgamation of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was still on the table, placing the town boundaries in jeopardy.
In March 1997, in an open letter, Dowson appealed to council to hold a referendum by ballot during the 1997 municipal elections, but this plan was rejected.
Persistence was to pay off and by the dawn of the millennium the incredible population growth we had experienced, and renewed citizen appeals prompted council to again give serious consideration to the question of a ward system.
At the council meeting of July 17, 2000, it was resolved to prepare a bylaw and to hold a referendum July 31. The bylaw was approved, and an option was placed on the voter’s ballot during the election of council scheduled for Nov. 13, 2000.
By provincial legislation, support of more than 50 per cent of the eligible voters would make it binding for the municipality to establish boundaries and elect representative councilors for each ward, to be implemented for a period of three years following the election of 2003.
The referendum indicated a ward system was favored by a majority of 8,685 to 5,012, but this represented only 35 per cent of the eligible voters. Based on the provincial requirement for a 50 per cent voter turnout, a ward system was not approved.
However, mayor Tom Taylor, in recognition of what he considered popular opinion, resolved to implement a form of area representation on a trial basis when the newly elected council convened.
The council structure came back into discussion at the council meeting held Nov. 26, 2001, where councillor Bob Scott spoke at length on the subject. He voiced strong opposition to a resolution that had been proposed Jan. 30, 2000 by Councillor Dean Burton to reduce the number of councillors from seven to five. There was no debate on the matter at the time due to the absence of some of the council members and the matter was deferred.
Scott further opposed an increase in the size of council by the introduction of a ward system and requested a standing vote be taken, the aim was to cease once and for all ward planning discussions.
Before the poll was taken, several members expressed the view that since a large majority of those who did vote in the referendum stated their desire to implement a ward system, popular opinion must not be disregarded. With all members in attendance, the request was defeated 8 to 1 and the process continued.
In the first week of January 2002, public consultation took place to review the methods to be taken to create a ward system. A notice for public comments resulted in sparsely attended meetings and just seven written comments submitted by our citizens. There appeared to be apathy concerning the issue.
Despite this evident apathy by the ratepayers, council voted unanimously on March 25, 2002 to adopt a ward system composed of seven wards, each represented by one of the seven elected councillors instead of serving at large.
The ward boundaries were contingent on areas of population density to be determined prior to implementation after the 2003 election. At the council meeting on June 10, 2002, bylaw 2002-62 was passed to authorize a ward system.
By relating the story of our move toward the ward system and the continued push to more amalgamation throughout the region illustrates just how ideas are initially proposed but do not immediately find traction.
While they may not find initial acceptance, they always remain out there in the public’s mind and will reappear over and over until we finally need to confront them once and for all. Perhaps the circumstances may change, and the proposals make more sense in the time and space in which we find ourselves.
I have always believed that history does indeed repeat itself and ideas never die, they just sit dormant, awaiting their opportunity to germinate in the future. We may be asked to make decisions based upon proposals put forward by our ancestors and to re-judge their validity against our reality and circumstances.
Sources: Articles from The Newmarket Era; minutes of the Town of Newmarket’s Council Meetings; Articles from The Toronto Star; Newmarket Council – A Series of Essays by George Luesby; Oral History Interviews Conducted by Richard MacLeod; Discussions With John Dowson Online
