Outrage should greet abuse of public authority
Auditor to probe north- end squabble Nov. 1. Abuse of public authority must be counted among the greatest threats to any democratic society, so it is disturbing that Toronto city Councillor David Shiner ( Ward 24) is attempting to replace all five members of the city’s north committee of adjustment because he disagrees with an action he claims they took. It is even more disturbing that Shiner’s attempt to subvert the democratic process has not been met with public outrage.
Shiner was miffed when he determined ( incorrectly, as it turned out) that the committee of adjustment had first approved and then deferred a request to increase by 201 the number of units in a proposed high- rise condominium on the northeast corner of Bayview and Sheppard Aves. In fact, the committee of adjustment never approved the increase; it merely deferred the request in order to seek further public input. In any event, Shiner had no right to interfere. The Ontario Planning Act created this committee of adjustment, along with committees of adjustment in other parts of Toronto, to give communities a say in any new development that seeks minor variances from the city’s official plan. This serves two laudable ends: To speed up approval of those developments that would benefit the community and to halt developments that would be harmful. Committees of adjustment are independent bodies with an arm’s-length relationship to City Hall. This is to ensure that committee members, although appointed by a community council, would not be subjected to undue pressure either by developers or by councillors doing developers’ bidding. For similar reasons, such agencies as the Ontario Municipal Board or the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board are also kept free from political meddling. Indeed, had a provincial or federal minister of the Crown interfered with an independent public body in the way that Shiner is now interfering with the north committee of adjustment, that minister would most assuredly be removed from cabinet.
While Shiner’s term on council cannot be cut short, those of us who believe strongly in democratic values and the rule of law do have a powerful tool that we can use every three years to rid ourselves of municipal politicians who act against the public interest — the ballot. Ed Shiller, Toronto