Mendalla
Happy headbanging ape!!
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The Ford government's "reform" of Toronto's wards was discussed in the Municipal Elections thread but it probably deserves its own.
Short version to date: Short after taking power, Premier Doug Ford announced the province was going to unilaterally cut the number of wards in Toronto from 47 to 25, matching the number of federal/provincial ridings in the city. He made the announcement on the day municipal nominations closed, setting off a firestorm given that many candidates had filed papers and starting campaigning based on the old wards. The Premier recalled the legislature and used his majority to ram the bill through. The city quite quickly got its legal department into action, seeking to overturn the new law in court.
Well, today the decision came down.
Ontario premier says he'll use notwithstanding clause to chop number of Toronto city councillors | CBC News
So, a judge ruled against the law but Ford immediately swung back, launching an appeal and a plan to invoke the constitution's notwithstanding clause.
To be clear, the judge didn't say the province couldn't change Toronto's electoral boundaries. His ruling was that the timing was what made it unconstitutional and if Ford had simply let this election happen with the wards as is and then done the reform for the 2022 municipal elections, it would have been okay.
Short version to date: Short after taking power, Premier Doug Ford announced the province was going to unilaterally cut the number of wards in Toronto from 47 to 25, matching the number of federal/provincial ridings in the city. He made the announcement on the day municipal nominations closed, setting off a firestorm given that many candidates had filed papers and starting campaigning based on the old wards. The Premier recalled the legislature and used his majority to ram the bill through. The city quite quickly got its legal department into action, seeking to overturn the new law in court.
Well, today the decision came down.
Ontario premier says he'll use notwithstanding clause to chop number of Toronto city councillors | CBC News
So, a judge ruled against the law but Ford immediately swung back, launching an appeal and a plan to invoke the constitution's notwithstanding clause.
To be clear, the judge didn't say the province couldn't change Toronto's electoral boundaries. His ruling was that the timing was what made it unconstitutional and if Ford had simply let this election happen with the wards as is and then done the reform for the 2022 municipal elections, it would have been okay.