Ontario's Progressive Conservative government passed a controversial law Monday afternoon that will force municipalities to seek approval for installing new bike lanes on arterial roads and could see some existing bike lanes torn up.
Bill 212 passed third reading by a vote of 66-27.
Just a few hours before, Windsor city council voted to defer a motion by Ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie that asked council to take a position on the bill and send a message to the Ford Government.
The bill requires that municipalities obtain provincial approval before installing bike lanes if a lane of vehicular traffic will be removed to accommodate them.
In an effort to learn more about the bill, and mayor Drew Dilkens stating that he believed the province would not soon pass the bill, council tasked administration to come back with a report at the next council meeting in 2025.
"This is an attack on municipal autonomy, this is an attack on municipal authority, it's an attack on, I think, just basic fundamental democratic processes," said McKenzie reacting to the news that the province passed the bill.
He says going forward Windsor's autonomy is diminished.
"At the end of the day, some of the decisions that we would like to see implemented and some of the infrastructure that we would like to see implemented in the city of Windsor, the decision as to whether or not that infrastructure is going to proceed, or that investment is going to proceed will be made by a bureaucrat, and somebody sitting in a ministerial office in Queen's Park."
McKenzie says he still wants council to take a position on Bill 212.
"My intention at our next council meeting is to raise the issue. I know we've asked for a report to come back in January, perhaps the report can still come back, but it's still worthy of discussion at our next council meeting to talk about whether or not we want to express to the government that we have some concerns with respect to the bill that's been brought forward."
Controversially, the bill also limits the ability to sue the government over the removal of the bike lanes, including in cases where cyclists are injured or killed on stretches of road where the bike lanes are removed.
The bill still requires royal assent to officially become law.
Council's next meeting is set for Jan. 6, 2025.
-With files from CTV News
