What will Doug Ford do now that a judge has blocked his plan to cut Toronto city council?

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Police escort a protester away in handcuffs from the public gallery at Queen’s Park Thursday as MPPs debate the Ford government’s plan to use the “notwithstanding” clause to slash the size of Toronto city council. (Richard Lautens / Toronto Star)

As MPPs returned to Queen’s Park Wednesday, the proceedings quickly descended into chaos with two protesters — one a woman in her 70s — handcuffed by security in the public viewing galleries. Despite the chaos, the legislation passed first reading later in the afternoon.

Politicians were back almost two weeks ahead of schedule for an emergency session so Ford’s fledgling Progressive Conservative government could reintroduce legislation that an Ontario Superior Court justice ruled was unconstitutional.

The Better Local Government Act, struck down Monday by Justice Edward Belobaba for violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, reduces the number of Toronto city councillors from 47 to 25.

It was tabled again Wednesday afternoon as the Efficient Local Government Act and Ford, who never mentioned cutting council during the June 7 provincial election campaign, will use the Charter’s “notwithstanding” clause for the first time in Ontario history.

That will ensure the bill can withstand any other Charter challenge. Although the New Democrats launched a raucous protest — as most of them were kicked out of the legislature, one by one, for banging on their desks — the legislation passed first reading 63-17.

No Tories broke ranks, with only the few remaining New Democrats, the Liberals, and the lone Green MPP voting against it.

Thanks to the Tories’ majority, it is expected to pass within two weeks. The deadline for candidates entering the Oct. 22 city election will be two days after it receives royal assent — so likely by Oct. 1.

But there could be a political cost for the new government. Davis, a revered Tory titan and instrumental in the repatriation of the Constitution, jolted the debate by criticizing his party’s use of Section 33 of the Charter.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/09/10/the-new-doug-ford-reverts-to-his-old-self
“The notwithstanding provision has, understandably, rarely been used, because of the primacy of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for all Canadians,” Davis told TVO’s Steve Paikin.

“That it might now be used regularly to assert the dominance of any government or elected politician over the rule of law or the legitimate jurisdiction of our courts of law was never anticipated or agreed to,” added Davis, who led the province from 1971 to 1985.

The controversial clause gives the provinces and Ottawa the power to overrule Charter rights conflicting with a government legislative agenda.

Ford, a rookie premier, has warned he “won’t be shy” about invoking Section 33 of the Charter again to prevent judges from derailing his plans.

Earlier Wednesday, he boasted that “the people” are with him.

“What Canada needs and Ontario needs and Toronto needs is democracy,” said Ford, noting “2.3 million people voted for the PC party.”

“This is about preserving the will of the people. This is about preserving democracy.”

An unknown woman is taken away in handcuffs on Sept. 12, 2018 ahead of the reintroduction of Premier Doug Ford's Bill 5, which will cut Toronto council to 25 seats from 47. The bill is expected to be passed when Ford invokes the Charter's "notwithstanding" clause.

The premier, who has been accused of acting unilaterally against Toronto council for partisan reasons, did not attempt to disguise his motives under questioning from NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

“The leader of the NDP is here to protect her crony buddies: Mike Layton, Joe Cressy, Gord Perks,” he said, referring to left-leaning Toronto councillors.

Horwath shook her head and said Ford, who lost the 2014 mayoral race to John Tory, was “obsessed” with city council and “didn’t even have the guts to campaign” on the issue.

When guards handcuffed and removed a woman, from the public gallery, a visibly disgusted former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne, the MPP for Don Valley West, shouted: “Come on, really?”

Some Tory ministers and MPPs could be seen squirming in their seats as Speaker Ted Arnott cleared the public galleries after people jeered at Ford.

Horwath later told reporters “it was a shocking day — to watch grandmas and grandpas literally be led out of the gallery in handcuffs,” while also calling Ford “an out-of-control premier.”

The NDP leader, herself ejected by Arnott when Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark tabled the bill, said Ford attacking city councillors during question period “just shows the pettiness of this premier … he’s not doing this for any other reason but for his own little, petty vendetta.”

Toronto’s contested municipal wards
Under the Tories’ new legislation, Toronto city council would be cut nearly in half, from a planned 47 wards to 25.

“Is that what leadership is all about? Is that what the people of this province from one end to the other want to see their premier do?”

Attorney General Caroline Mulroney defended the decisions to appeal the ruling and invoke the notwithstanding clause.

“We believe that the Better Local Government Act is constitutional. That is why our government is appealing the judge’s ruling and that we are seeking a stay in the decision,” Mulroney told reporters, adding the Constitution “makes it clear that the province has exclusive jurisdiction over municipalities, and Section 33 of the Charter confirms the paramountcy of the legislature.”

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said he respects the public and NDP protests, blaming Ford for having “detonated a constitutional bomb, playing politics with people’s Charter rights. Such extraordinary actions will lead to extraordinary responses.”

The province, which is also facing a legal challenge from Greenpeace Canada over its decision to end the cap-and-trade system, has now announced it will hold public consultations on the issue.

 

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With Doug Ford as Boss Hogtown, who needs a mayor?
By Edward Keenan Star Columnist
Wed., Sept. 12, 2018

The City of Toronto Act is supposed to be a sort of city charter, defining the powers of the municipal government and how they work. It is still on the books, for now. Officially.

But it would appear obvious, after the past two months and especially the past week, that the act has been effectively replaced. Instead we get the City of Toronto Actor: Premier Doug Ford. He’s gonna say how it’s gonna be. Period.

Doug Ford lost when he ran for mayor of Toronto in 2014, but in just four years he’s found another path to taking control of the city, Edward Keenan writes. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO)

That’s an obvious enough conclusion after his snap decision to rewrite the rules of city government and election law in the middle of a Toronto election campaign, then haul out the notwithstanding clause to enforce that decision after a judge ruled it unconstitutional.

It’s an obvious enough conclusion from his promise that he won’t be shy about using that power to set aside the Charter of Rights and Freedoms again — and his further comments making it clear he doesn’t believe in constitutional democracy as it exists in Canada, demonizing not just a judge but the entire role of judges in reviewing legislation as illegitimate.

It’s obvious from his rhetoric about the “downtown NDP councillors” and Mayor John Tory, and Ford’s clear focus not on provincial issues but on Toronto — so much so that, when NDP leader Andrea Horwath accused him during Question Period of being “obsessed with his enemies on Toronto council,” he responded, “We were elected on making sure we fix this city.”

This city, huh? Huh.

Ford announced he was running for mayor of Toronto four years ago, on Sept. 12, 2014. He lost in that campaign. But one term of council later, he’s done better: As premier of Ontario, he appears ready to see himself as essentially All Powerful Boss of Toronto. And at this point, nothing in law or politics seems likely to disabuse him of that notion.

Candidates will get 2 more days to register for 25-ward municipal election

By now we’re past observing that his meddling with the size of council has thrown the election itself into chaos.

What’s coming into focus is just how much of the election debate we might otherwise have had — the one we might mostly still have — is now kind of irrelevant.

Not that the issues are irrelevant. Quite the opposite. People in this city cannot afford housing. We have more people trying to get into homeless shelters than we have beds for. People are being shot and killed by criminals. Transit and traffic concerns remain as pressing as ever. This is the stuff of our lives.

Yet how can any mayor or city council plan credibly deal with that with Premier Boss Hogtown up the street ready and apparently eager to just impose his own will? For example, a candidate might want to raise property taxes, or implement a new “revenue tool” from among the menu of those included in the City of Toronto Act. Will Ford allow it? Or will he just fire up the legislature to set Toronto’s local tax rates?

City council might vote to make the King St. transit pilot project permanent, as both leading mayoral candidates seem likely to do. But Ford could — and conceivably would — respond by just making streetcars illegal.

He’s already begun planning to take over the TTC subway system. What else will he take over — either officially, or by legislatively handcuffing Toronto’s government?

I expect a lot of people think this sounds like scaremongering, or overreacting. But I think it’s clear Ford has a keen interest in very local Toronto affairs, that he has shown he isn’t shy about using his provincial powers to get involved and, as my colleague Robert Benzie has reported, that he and his advisers see straight-up power plays like hitting the constitutional override button as political victories that make him look strong.

 

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竞选人还剩两天时间按２５个新选区注册。

 

[向问天]

竞选人还剩两天时间按２５个新选区注册。

官大一级压死人。

 

[New Person]

在执政的一意孤行上，FORD比前任有过之而不及啊。

 

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就怕心不齐啊。所有的竞选人都bow out of 市选，会是啥情形？　

Doucette has represented the current Ward 13, Parkdale-High Park, since 2010, but says she's not interested in serving on a 25-ward council.

"It's not, to be honest, a job I want," she told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Thursday.

Doucette said the change would pile on work to the point where she was no longer directly in touch with community members.

"I came in as a grassroots activist … working in the community," she said.

Doucette would likely square off against Coun. Gord Perks in the municipal election — "Oh I would have beat him," she said, laughing — who she considers a "dear friend."

If Perks wins, Doucette said she expects him and the rest of council to face rocky times in their dealings with Ford's government.

"We know what he wants to do. Now, unfortunately, he's capable of doing these vindictive things he threatened to do when he was a councillor," she said.

Doucette joins a number of incumbent councillors who say they aren't running again (although, nominations aren't expected to close until next week.) Those councillors include:

• Coun. Glenn de Baeremaeker.
• Coun. Janet Davis.
• Coun. Josh Colle.
• Coun. Mary-Margaret McMahon
• Coun. Justin Di Ciano.

Several other councillors who were appointed this term are also not running again.

 

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法官判的是过程违宪。未经充分协商，修改议员人数违宪。不是议员人数多少更有效的问题
土豆也可以用这条款，不理高院裁决，继续 Trans Mountain Pipeline

一个纽约市议员可以代表15.7万人，为什么多伦多市议员只能代表人5.5万人？难道多伦多市议员都是些废物？
多伦多市议员数量砍掉一半，一个人也只代表11万人。

 

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一个纽约市议员可以代表15.7万人，为什么多伦多市议员只能代表人5.5万人？难道多伦多市议员都是些废物？
多伦多市议员数量砍掉一半，一个人也只代表11万人。

美国众议员435人，美国人口325.7 million，一个人代表748,735人。

加拿大众议员338人，加拿大人口36.3 million，一个人代表107,396人。加拿大只要有48个众议员就够了。

渥太华市议员23人，渥太华人口964,743，一个人代表41,945人。也得砍啊！留8个人。

 

[Adenine]

多伦多民主程度是纽约的三倍。福娃要砍，坚决不答应！

一个纽约市议员可以代表15.7万人，为什么多伦多市议员只能代表人5.5万人？难道多伦多市议员都是些废物？ 多伦多市议员数量砍掉一半，一个人也只代表11万人。

 

[soysauce]

福娃说渥太华20多个很合適。估计是多伦多人民素质低，不适合充分民主制

 

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这个不能相提并论。美国是总统制，加拿大是议会制度。加拿大执政党议员要当部长，反对党有影子内阁。完全是不同的玩法
。不过加拿大众议员数量多同样是政治分肥的结果。把众议员数量砍掉一半，对国家只好不坏，没有任何问题。

我没问题。你与其他人商量一下吧。

 

[冷笑9声]

我没问题。你与其他人商量一下吧。

村长，我到现在也没完全理解减少议员人数这事。。。既然官大压一级，联邦土豆能出手么？

 

[soysauce]

村长，我到现在也没完全理解减少议员人数这事。。。既然官大压一级，联邦土豆能出手么？

可以断它钱财，别的办法没有。福省长上任后，人民才知道，加拿大省长不受约束的权利大过美国总统

 

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau applauded the actions of 25 Liberal MPs from Toronto who signed a letter calling on all members of the provincial legislature to step up and defeat Premier Doug Ford's legislation slashing the size of the city's municipal council.

"Quite frankly, it is something that I expect of all our MPs, to be strong voices for their communities in Ottawa," Trudeau told reporters in Saskatchewan Thursday.

Trudeau said earlier this week that while he is "disappointed" the Ford government decided to use the notwithstanding clause to force the legislation through the provincial legislature, he will not step into the debate over the size of Toronto city council.

"We are calling on all MPPs to defeat Ford's legislation, tabled yesterday at Queen's Park, and the Bill's unprecedented use of the notwithstanding clause in Ontario," said the letter, first obtained by the Toronto Star.

"In particular, we believe MPPs elected in Toronto have a responsibility to defend the city, its democratic institutions, and the rights of citizens to a free and fair municipal election. The people of Toronto deserve nothing less."

Ford announced Monday that he would take the rare step of invoking Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms after an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that his provincial government's legislation to cut the number of Toronto city councillors was unconstitutional.

Section 33 — known as the notwithstanding clause — allows premiers or prime ministers to override for a five-year period rulings on legislation that judges have determined would violate sections of the Charter.

Pierre Trudeau opposed the clause, but reluctantly agreed to its inclusion in order to get a deal on the Constitution Act of 1982, which wrested control of Canada's Constitution from Britain.

Politically toxic
Ontario has never used the clause before. Political leaders generally have been reluctant to use the notwithstanding clause, which is viewed by many as politically toxic.

"The correct response to a court decision one disagrees with is to appeal. Ford's response is heavy-handed and disrespectful," the MPs' letter said.

"As elected representatives of the City, we want to assure the people of Toronto that we understand and respect the critical role that city hall and local democracy play in building the communities in which we live."

The letter is signed by all 25 Liberal MPs from Toronto, including several members of the federal cabinet, including:

• Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett,
• Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair
• Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan
• Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen
• Minister of Finance Bill Morneau

 

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Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau joined 23 other Toronto-area Liberal MPs who urged Ontario MPPs to reject Premier Doug Ford’s use of the “notwithstanding” clause. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

“We believe MPPs elected in Toronto have a responsibility to defend the city, its democratic institutions, and the rights of citizens to a free and fair municipal election. The people of Toronto deserve nothing less.”

They quoted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s declaration that the Liberal party will always “defend the Charter” and said “but this is not a partisan issue” noting former prime minister Brian Mulroney, premiers and municipal leaders “of all political stripes have denounced Ford’s triggering of the notwithstanding clause. The correct response to a court decision one disagrees with is to appeal.”

The statement — the first of its kind — is signed “The Toronto Liberal MPs” and it includes several high-profile cabinet ministers such as Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan, and Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen.

It says that the elected representatives of the city “want to assure the people of Toronto that we understand and respect the critical role that city hall and local democracy play in building the communities in which we live.”

However Trudeau has already ruled out intervening in the dispute.

Julie Dabrusin, MP for Toronto-Danforth and a spokesperson for the caucus, told the Star that the caucus statement by “25 federal Liberal MPs saying that a strong Toronto is part of a strong Canada, when you have all of us imploring our MPPs in Queen’s Park to do what’s right,” that is a strong signal. She said the Toronto caucus is satisfied with Trudeau’s decision not to intervene.

“What we have right now is a constitutional process with people sitting in Queen’s Park with the ability to vote this down, and that is the proper process for showing how our democratic institutions work,” Dabrusin said in an interview. “And in addition, the provincial government is free to appeal that decision. They have the tools that they need to go forward without having to invoke this clause.”

Speaking in Winnipeg Tuesday, Trudeau said: “We’re disappointed by the provincial government in Ontario’s choice to invoke the notwithstanding clause, but I won’t be weighing in on the debate on how big Toronto municipal council should be,” he said.

“I will trust that Ontarians will reflect whether or not the provincial government made the right decision on overriding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on this issue,” said Trudeau, who met with Toronto Mayor John Tory on the topic Monday.