Regional Chair
Gary Burroughs is the current Regional Chair and head of Regional Council.
He represents Niagara Region at a multitude of meetings and civic functions. He also works on a number of projects that are or will be beneficial for Niagara Region in both a formal or informal capacity.
Responsibilities of the Regional Chair
The Regional Chair presides over all meetings of Regional Council and is a member of all standing committees. As such he/she attends most meetings.
In addition, the Regional Chair represents Regional Council and Niagara Region at meetings with area municipalities, other regional chairs and with ministers of the Crown in both Toronto and Ottawa.
The list of responsibilities and number of meetings virtually ensures that Niagara's Regional Chair is a full time position. The office of the Regional Chair is located in Niagara Region Headquarters, 2201 St. David's Road, Thorold, Ontario, Canada.
The Regional Chair is a signing officer on all cheques, bylaws, deeds & agreements. He/she is also responsible for overseeing the business of the Regional Corporation.
Election of the Regional Chair
Current legislation provides that Regional Council, at its first meeting after a municipal election, shall elect a Regional Chair. Any person eligible to be an elector in Niagara Region may be elected Regional Chair. Niagara Region has adopted a policy that the Regional Chair will be elected from among the 30 persons who have been elected to Regional Council in the just completed municipal elections.
To be eligible, the candidates must be nominated by two Regional councillors. Where more than one person is nominated, a vote is held. The candidate who receives the votes of a majority of Regional councillors (at least 16 out of 30) is elected Regional Chair for that term of the Council.
If no candidate receives the votes of the majority of councillors, the person who received the least votes is removed from the list of candidates. The voting process is repeated until one person is elected Regional Chair by a majority of the councillors.
Once elected, the Regional Chair must resign her/his seat as a councillor representing a municipality. That municipality council then determines how the replacement councillor will be chosen.
