WHAT HAPPENS AFTER ENDING HAMILTON'S EMERGENCY DECLARATION?

On May 10, after over two years in effect, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger ended the city's emergency declaration issued to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with less than fully explained reasoning, the Emergency Operations Centre will continue to remain "active and mobilized," but only to monitor the COVID-19 progress.

City officials stated that the centre can still be reimposed if needed.

In March 2020, councillors agreed to delegate authority to staff, via the Emergency Operations Centre, to manage the health crisis and to maintain critical city services, with the goal of protecting people from the virus, creating an effective vaccine rollout and eventually transitioning out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When it was overseen by the former emergency services general manager Paul Johnson, it provided a valuable forum to gather people together, review situations, allow people to bluntly talk about options and have all the information available for a decision. After Johnson left Hamilton for a job with the City of Toronto, the directorship fell on Jason Thorne.

Despite the accolades bestowed upon the centre and its staff, there has never been a full accounting of this body's vague decision-making powers, or how it has at times usurped the democratically elected council's legislative power.

Council gave the Emergency Operations Centre the power to appoint or remove from office staff of the municipality, pass a bylaw to incorporate corporations, adopt an official plan or an amendment to an official plan under the Planning Act, adopt community improvement plan, adopt or amend the budget or any other power under the idea that councillors believed they could not meet in a timely matter to make speedy decisions.

Council also allowed staff to approve funding and transfer agreements under city programs, handle procurement, execute agreements to ensure city operations, make legal settlements and real estate transactions.

That's a lot of power in the hands of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats.

Now, with the removal of the emergency declaration and the easing of the responsibilities of the centre, there needs to be a review of its actions and whether its decision-making powers were used in a proper manner. How and why were decisions made?

What alternatives were considered?

What will be their lasting impact on the residents of Hamilton in the years to come?

If something was done improperly, who will be held accountable?

Was the depth and breadth of the powers granted to the centre necessary in the first place?

It is only natural to ask such questions in a democratic society, and while it would not be fair to slam the members of the Emergency Operations Centre just for exercising the powers given to them by council, it would reckless to avoid looking at how they were used.