Toronto council cuts move forward
Judge says reduction of wards from 47 to 25 is unconstitutional
Premier Doug Ford is taking an unprecedented step, invoking the province’s powers and using the “notwithstanding” clause to override a court decision that shut down his plans to cut the size of Toronto’s city council.
For the first time in the province’s history, Ford says he plans to use a rarely reached for tool in the charter to allow the cut to 25 wards from 47 for the upcoming election to continue — and warned he will use it more than once if he has to.
He said his government is also appealing a court decision released Monday morning and will resume the legislature this week to reintroduce the bill that forced changes to Toronto’s ongoing election.
“I believe the judge’s decision is deeply concerning and the result is unacceptable to the people of Ontario,” Ford said.
Ford made the announcement at a news conference Monday afternoon just hours after a bombshell ruling that shut down his government’s plans to align city council wards with provincial and federal ridings.
“I was elected,” Ford told reporters, while saying the judge “was appointed.”
The actions of the Ford government were harshly criticized in the ruling by Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba, who said the province’s Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act, infringed charter rights and deemed it unconstitutional.
The judge called that move “unprecedented” and ruled it “substantially interfered with both the candidate’s and the voter’s right to freedom of expression” guaranteed by the charter.
In doing so, he ordered an election continue on the basis of 47 wards, returning the campaign to a state before Bill 5 was tabled at Queen’s Park.
“It is only when democratically elected government has clearly crossed the line that the ‘judicial umpire’ should intervene,” Belobaba wrote in his 21-page decision.
“The province has clearly crossed the line.”
The decision has no effect on Bill 5’s cancelling of regional chair elections in other municipalities.
After the judgment was released, the city confirmed, through a spokesperson, that the city clerk would began preparing an election for Oct. 22, as scheduled, under a 47-ward model. The statement said candidates would be those certified as of July 30 — 509 candidates for council and school boards.
In his decision, Belobaba strongly reprimanded the province for failing to justify the cut to council, saying it submitted little evidence to support the hastily made argument that the legislation would result in more effective representation for residents or arguments repeated most by Ford and others that it would make council more efficient and save taxpayers money.
“It appears that Bill 5 was hurriedly enacted to take effect in the middle of the city’s election without much thought at all, more out of pique than principle,” Belobaba wrote.
“As things now stand — and until a constitutionally valid provincial law says otherwise — the city has 47 wards.”
Belobaba said candidates’ charter rights were infringed because the legislation was enacted in the middle of the election and that voters’ rights were breached because the imposition of 25 wards by the province would have doubled the average ward population size and led to worse representation.
For candidates, Belobaba explained, the 47-ward structure set out at the start of the election period on May 1 “informed their decision about where to run, what to say, how to raise money and how to publicize their views.”
He noted candidates had already produced campaign literature and invested time and money within the boundaries they believed to be in place.
“There can be no doubt on the evidence before the court that Bill 5 substantially interfered with the candidate’s ability to effectively communicate his or her political message to the relevant voters.”
And on voters’ rights, the judge noted the unique nature of local government and its close relationship to residents.
“The evidence before this court supports the conclusion that if the 25 (federal electoral districts) option was adopted, city councillors would not have the capacity to respond in a timely fashion to the ‘grievances and concerns’ of their constituents,” Belobaba wrote.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath reminded Ford that “you are not the king of Toronto” and blasted the premier for being “hamfisted.”
“Doug Ford is literally suspending the Charter of Rights of Ontario people in order to plow ahead with his revenge plot
against his political enemies at Toronto city hall,” said Horwath.
Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser implored Ford to rethink his scheme, stressing “chaos and constitutional mayhem are not good for Ontario: this creates uncertainty and undermines the importance of democratic rights.”
Before Ford’s gambit, Mayor John Tory told reporters at city hall he welcomed the court ruling.
“We have stood up for Toronto and for our rights as a city … I firmly believe you don’t change the rules in the middle of an election campaign,” Tory said. “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right and it raises the question — what’s the rush?”
After the Star revealed Ford’s plans in late July, Tory initially expressed some skepticism about the city’s chances of a successful court challenge and called for a city-wide referendum to see how many wards Torontonians want.
That triggered former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat to jump into the mayoral race, saying Tory wasn’t standing up for Toronto. Tory rejected that argument Monday.
“I said that this was change being rammed down our throats without any consultation and that was wrong,” Tory said. “I don’t apologize for one second for suggesting we could have a referendum because I think had the government gone that route … it would have been a better way.”
Keesmaat, in a statement released Monday, thanked “every single Torontonian who fought so hard over the last few weeks against the Premier’s plan to upend our democracy without consulting the people.”
“You are what standing up for Toronto looks like,” she said.
She criticized Tory for not having “our city’s back” when “the chips were down” and reiterated that episode has shown the need for “new leadership at city hall.”
Belobaba’s decision comes just nine days after an Aug. 31 hearing where lawyers for the city and those representing groups of candidates, volunteers and community groups challenged the legislation on the grounds it was unconstitutional and violated charter rights.
The judge had earlier promised to make speedy work of his ruling with the election looming and nominations for council and school board trustee candidates set to close Sept. 14.