A collection of municipal news and information of note, and some other things as well.
As Hamilton Council ends our snow reserve, parts of Ontario report record snowfall: Hamilton City Council has drained the City’s snow reserve accounts in order to fund this term’s expansion in the size of City Hall management. There is now $0 in the account, with this City Council gambling that Hamilton will never again experience more than three major snow storms in any given winter.
Meanwhile in Barrie … record amounts of snow is leaving the city’s snow storage full and needing to access reserve funds to cover the costs.
London opens its tiny homes community, units built in Hamilton: A public statement says the first modular units have been occupied. The units were built in Hamilton, fully code-compliant, and includes units for couples. Hamilton City Hall continues to stand behind its decision to disqualified local companies in favourite of Made-in-China units that did not meet code and costs millions over budget.
Sarnia Police Board Threatens Legal Action Against Sarnia Mayor: As noted in the Jan 29 linkblog, Sarnia’s mayor is attempting to use a Strong Mayor veto against spending $91-million to construct a new headquarters for the Sarnia Police Service. This despite Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs stating Strong Mayors cannot veto police budgets.
Sarnia’s mayor is not backing down, and Sarnia’s Police Board is now threatening to take legal action.
Niagara Falls Council Now Charges $1,000 to File Integrity Complaints: The goal of the fee is to stop people from filing compliants after the previous $500 fee proved an insignificant deterrant to complainants. Metroland story.
The Small Town Canaries in the Municipal Finance Coal Mine: A small Alberta lower-tier municipality (pop. 3,218) is the latest Canadian municipality to become effectively insolvent. The municipality has drained its reserves, maxed out its debt limitations, made poor spending choices, and is now hoping for the provincial government to give them a lifeline. The township of Fauquier-Strickland in Northern Ontario became insolvent in 2025.
Small Town (pop 2,410) Strong Mayor Slapped with 180 Days Pay Penalty: Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards (KHR) Mayor Dave Mayville was given Strong Mayor powers in May 2025, and according to the Town’s Integrity Commissioner, he quickly began to abuse those powers. The IC determined that Mayville ‘deliberately misinterpreted’ his powers to engage in actions he was not permitted to, and engaged in a ‘serious pattern of harassment and intimidation’ against the town CAO. The six councillors voted unanimously to accept the IC recommendation of the maximum penalty of 90 days for each of the two offenses, for a total pay suspension of 180 days. CTV News reports.
Barrie Considering Hamilton-Style Renoviction Bylaw: Metroland Media reports. I noted Sarnia doing the same on Feb 10, and the City of Waterloo on Jan 24. I wrote a background note in May 2024 about other municipalities adopting Hamilton’s bylaw.
Fraser Institute Speaks Out Against Proposed Housing Restrictions in Calgary and Edmonton: Calgary just had a record year for new housing, in part driven by the decision of its now-previous Council term to approve a blanket rezoning to permit more housing. The new Mayor rode the backlash against permissive zoning into office on a promise to reverse permissive zoning. With Alberta’s two largest cities planning to implement restrictions and increased fees on new housing, the right-leaning Fraser Institute warns “misguided policies in Calgary and Edmonton would make housing less affordable.“
(Calgary’s new housing record was noted in the Feb 10 linkblog.)
Related: The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is warning Calgary City Council that repealing permissive zoning will result in the loss of federal Housing Accelerator Fund payments.
Winnipeg Looks to Implement “Vulnerable Infrastructure” Protest Ban Bylaw: Winnipeg’s proposal to ban protests on most public streets includes a $5,000 fine for anyone protesting in violation of the ban. The Canadian Constitution Foundation, which has been leading against municipal Charter of Rights violations, has sent Winnipeg’s mayor a letter urging him to abandon this blatantly illegal bylaw.
Sarnia Committee of Adjustment Votes Down Indwell Project: Sarnia’s City Council is more divided than most councils when it comes to permitting new social housing.
This week, Sarnia’s Committee of Adjustment voted down a fully compliant 35-unit five-storey Indwell supportive housing project. Despite the project being recommended for approval, and having started as a 51-unit proposal.
The land had been donated by the upper-tier Lambton County as part of the county’s affordable housing strategy. Zoning is controlled by the lower-tier governments in Lambton.
The saga of this proposed Indwell project reveals these deep divides as the council oscillates between concerns about a lack of affordability and appeasing those who do not want supportive housing in their backyard. Sarnia even held a Special Council meeting in August to provide an opportunity for opponents to voice their opposition. The meeting drew over 30 delegations and an overflow crowd.
Indwell can appeal the denial to the Ontario Land Tribunal, where the facts of the application heavily lean in favour of eventual approvals.
Last year, in March, Sarnia Council voted 5-4 against permitting a 56-unit affordable housing project. The Board of the Inn of the Good Shepherd was forced to go to the Ontario Land Tribunal for approval. The appeal was settled in January.
London Council Votes on Homelessness Remain Close: A vote to switch to one-year contracts for social service agencies from the current two-year contracts was defeated in a 7-8 vote.
St. Catharines begins transition off of Elon Musk’s X Platform: Metroland media reports.
Guy Giorno resigns as Dryden’s Integrity Commissioner: His letter notifiying Dryden council of his desire to end the contractual relationship notes the growing problem of the Council as a whole being the complainant in ongoing disputes. Giorno operates with the highest degree of professionalism, and is, as the saying goes, not getting into a mud fight with a pig.
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Published: February 15, 2026
Last updated: February 15, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
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