Toronto must stand and fight

Doug Ford’s out-of-nowhere plan to cut Toronto city council in half amounts to spitting in the face of the city and its voters.

Make no mistake: this is an act of supreme contempt for all of us, the people of Toronto.

It’s undoubtedly true that Ford is targeting his political opponents — the mainly left-leaning representatives of downtown wards that voted against him, as well as a couple of his rivals (notably Patrick Brown) who were running in the now-cancelled elections for regional chair in Peel and York regions.

But the way he’s going about this makes it much more than just a vindictive act of partisan score-settling, bad as that is. It’s a profoundly unfair move that subverts democracy at the local level and interferes directly in an election that, let’s remember, is already well underway.

You do not, as Mayor John Tory put it on Friday, change the rules in the middle of the game. But that’s exactly what Ford is doing by upending Toronto’s municipal election almost two months after candidates were able to officially enter the race.

There is, let’s acknowledge upfront, a legitimate debate to be had on local government in Toronto. Should we have a so-called “strong mayor” system? Should there be term limits for mayor and councillors? And, indeed, should there be fewer councillors?

But this is the worst possible way to deal with these questions.

Nothing about Ford’s plan stands up to the slightest scrutiny — not his arguments for it, and certainly not the way it’s being done.

On the substance, slashing council to 25 seats won’t automatically turn city hall into the lean, efficient machine that Ford apparently dreams about.

There’s no reason to assume that 25 councillors with different philosophies, answering to their various constituencies from all over the city, will have an easier time agreeing on major issues than 44 or even 47.

There’s also no evidence that Toronto is seriously overgoverned for its size (almost 3 million people). Ford points to bigger cities like London and Los Angeles and claims they run just fine with smaller councils. Conveniently, though, he ignores the fact that in addition to city-wide councils they also have local or borough councils that have many more representatives.

Ford’s most ludicrous claim is that no one should be surprised by this move. To the charge that he is remaking Toronto’s democratic structures without even the pretence of consultation, he replies that he campaigned on a promise of reducing the size and cost of government.

Now we’re expected to swallow the idea that what he really had in mind wasn’t wrestling with costs at Queen’s Park as premier — the job he was actually running for. No, we’re asked to believe he was aiming at Toronto city hall, where he tried and failed to have this bad idea adopted back when he was a city councillor and consigliere to his late brother, Mayor Rob.

Toronto must fight Ford’s plan in every way possible. Tory proposes the idea of a referendum in October. That’s not a bad idea; it would at least give voters a chance to make their wishes known and would make sure the current election is conducted under existing rules.

But Ford isn’t about to let that happen, and in any case his assault on local democracy demands a stronger response. Tory must be more aggressive than he has shown so far in exploring any legal options the city has to chal- lenge Ford’s move, and he should campaign forcefully against it. He shouldn’t worry about compromising future relations with Queen’s Park; Ford has already well and truly poisoned those for a long time to come.

Despite all this, it’s quite likely Ford’s rhetoric about dysfunction at Toronto city hall and cutting the number of politicians will resonate with a lot of people. He’s nothing if not an effective communicator with a simplistic slogan.

But those tempted to cheer him on should pause and consider whether this is the kind of government they want in Ontario. Do they really want high-handed, one-man rule?

The target this time may ostensibly be a few unpopular Toronto politicians. But who will be the next group to find itself in Ford’s gunsights? He’s already talking about a much wider overhaul of municipal government, so other cities may soon find themselves in the firing line.

This new government is off to a shaky start, and this is the worst move of all so far. It makes a mockery of Ford’s promise to be governing “for the people,” and the people must tell him and his government that they won’t stand for it.