Ford to slash size of T.O. city council

Critics accuse premier of circumventing democratic process

TORONTO — Doug Ford’s surprise decision to dramatically cut the size of Toronto’s city council just months before the fall municipal election drew immediate backlash Friday from the city’s mayor and other critics, who accused Ontario’s new premier of circumventing the democratic process.

Ford said his Progressive Conservative government will introduce legislation to cut the number of council seats from 47 to 25, aligning city wards with federal ridings — a plan that wasn’t outlined during the spring election campaign or mentioned in the province’s throne speech earlier this month.

The premier, a failed Toronto mayoral candidate and single-term city councillor, said he has wanted to make the change since his days at city hall.

“I promised to reduce the size and cost of government and end their culture of waste and mismanagement in government,” he said. “This is something I fought for at city hall, something I continue to believe in today.”

Having fewer city councillors “will dramatically improve the decision-making process,” and save Toronto taxpayers $25 million in councillor and staff salaries over four years, Ford said.

Asked why he didn’t campaign on the plan or hold public consultations on it, Ford said he heard from thousands of people while canvassing that they want a smaller government.

“People don’t care about politicians. They care about getting things done,” he said.

The deadline for candidates to register for Toronto’s election was Friday afternoon, but the province said it will extend that to September. The deadline to run for mayor, however, was unchanged.

Ford’s move was panned by Toronto Mayor John Tory, who said the process around the plan is “absolutely not right.” The mayor said he’d propose a referendum on the issue.

“This is a gigantic decision about the future of Toronto,” Tory said. “What we don’t need and what I just can’t support is change being rammed down our throats without a single second of public consultation.”

When asked if he had been given advance notice of Ford’s plan, Tory said the premier made a “passing reference” to the idea in a meeting two weeks ago but the matter was dropped.

“I didn’t think it was anything that was going to be taken seriously,” Tory said. “I said ‘well I don’t even think that was anything that was even possible.”’

Several councillors joined Tory in opposing Ford’s plan.

Others, however, expressed support for a smaller municipal government, arguing it would cut costs and help council reach decisions faster.

“The only thing we do upstairs in that chamber is everybody gets up and just wants to talk,” said Coun. Jim Karygiannis. “When you have 25 people, there’s more cohesion. You’ll move faster on things.”

Toronto city staff said the province’s plan would make preparing for the fall election very difficult, and would likely lead to the shortening of some electoral processes.

Ford also said he will cancel planned elections for regional chair positions in the York, Peel, Niagara and Muskoka regions.