Province introduces bill to cut Toronto city council by nearly half
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government introduced controversial legislation Monday that would cut Toronto city council nearly in half just months ahead of the fall municipal election, as the city weighs whether to take legal action to stall the proposed changes.
Premier Doug Ford announced last week that he planned to reduce the number of council seats in the city to 25 from 47 while leaving council makeups in other major urban centres untouched - a move he said would streamline the decision-making process and save Toronto taxpayers $25 million in councillor and staff salaries.
Ford also said he would halt planned elections for the role of regional chair in several Ontario regions, returning them to appointed positions.
The news appeared to surprise Toronto’s mayor and he city’s councillors, many of whom have since opposed it, though a handful have rallied in defence of the plan.
Ford has also faced criticism from the opposition parties, who say he did not campaign on the issue or hold public consultations as he pledged to do on key policy changes.
Speaking in the legislature Monday, the premier said he campaigned on reducing the size and cost of government so this move should come as no
surprise.
“I talked to tens of thousands of people across this province, I talked to thousands of people in Toronto, and every single person I spoke to in Toronto said that city hall is dysfunctional,” Ford said.
“We don’t believe in bigger government. We don’t believe in more politicians or more bureaucracy. We’re going to make sure the City of Toronto finally runs more efficiently.”
The bill introduced Monday amends several existing laws to realign Toronto municipal wards with provincial and federal ridings, extend the nomination period for those seeking a council seat to mid-September and cancel elections for the position of regional chair in Peel, York, Muskoka and Niagara regions.
Toronto Mayor John Tory,
meanwhile, is keeping the door open to mounting a court challenge against the province’s plan. Tory said he supports a motion due to be tabled at city hall Monday that would see the city examine legal options to stall Ford’s proposed changes.
Scholars and lawyers have said that one of the ways to delay Ford’s plan from taking effect during the current campaign is to mount a legal challenge against the measures and seek a court injunction.
Tory said he’s open to “examining and pursuing” all legal options against the act.
“It’s one of those cases that’s difficult for us because of the broad powers the province has, but I think we should be taking a look at every possible legal avenue, really, to hit the pause button on this,” he said.