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The new Ontario government plans to redraw the boundaries of the City of Toronto neighborhoods and reduce the number of municipal councilors from 47 to 25.
Premier Doug Ford is expected to announce the plan Friday, reported Thursday the Toronto Star. citing unnamed sources
The move comes after Toronto City Council was officially extended to 47 constituencies from 44 at the hour for the October municipal elections, as recommended in a consultant report independent. The decision to reduce the size of the council would likely require amendments to the province's Municipal Elections Act, which could impact communities across Ontario.
Some councilors quickly denounced the idea, including the Council. Gord Perks, who warned that this could throw the October municipal elections into chaos.
Perks points out that the boundaries of current neighborhoods are the result of years of consultations that have been heard by thousands of Torontonians. He has also prevailed recently, despite challenges to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and to the courts
. Ignoring all this, Perks said, "A horrible lack of respect for local democracy. Gord Perks criticized the plan in light of the upcoming municipal elections. (CBC News)
"Doug Ford does not care about the people of Toronto or the courts," he told CBC Toronto
"If Doug Ford wanted to be Mayor of Toronto, he would have "
Ford had planned to run against Mayor John Tory, but he was inclined to head the Progressive Conservative Party before becoming Prime Minister
. He was Councilor representing Ward 2, Etobicoke North, from 2010 to 2014, while his brother, the late Rob Ford, was Mayor
Ford, who also mingled with a wide range of problems with Perks and D & # 39 other members of the council while Mayor Ford was fighting a series of scandals. He advocated a halving of the council, saying that it would save a lot of money to taxpayers.
But there will be no dramatic savings for local taxpayers. The Toronto municipal council's operating budget for 2018 is $ 23 million, representing a tiny percentage of the city's total operating budget of $ 13 billion.
Other upheavals?
Perks said that he believes that Ford wants these changes to be installed before the October 22 elections, but it's not clear if this would even be possible given the complexity of the process electoral. Hundreds of people have already declared their candidacy
. According to Mr. Perks, the amendment to the Municipal Elections Act should go through the Ontario Legislature and bring about a disruption in other Ontario municipalities
. The government would support the move, but suggested that Ford should not even try
"He has a province to lead, he should focus on it," Perks said.
Other councilors also spoke. . Josh Matlow called it "anti-democratic" and "reckless" and said such changes would cancel an election process that has already begun.
Coun. Janet Davis tweeted that it was "a gross abuse of power."
Councilors Kristyn Wong-Tam and Joe Cressy also spoke on Twitter
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Some councilors support change
But the so-called plan also attracted the support of some councilors.
Coun. Jim Karygiannis, who has already called for municipal boundaries to be aligned with federal borders, was ecstatic.
"Damn it, bring him, bring him," he said when he was reached by phone on Thursday.
Karygiannis suggested that the only advisers concerned with change are those aligned with the NDP, or those who are afraid of losing their seat. (Despite the fact that the council had no affiliation, many councilors chose the sides in the June provincial election.)
He also downplayed the concerns this would imply for those living in neighborhoods. in full growth.
Coun. Justin Di Ciano thanked the prime minister on Twitter and said changing neighborhoods "makes sense for so many reasons." Di Ciano also responded to critics on Twitter ..
The Mayor John Tory n & # He has not yet officially responded to the report, but his office released a statement Thursday night saying that Tory "will make an important statement to reporters on Friday morning at City Hall."
Robert Benzie, Chief of Office from the Queen's Toronto Star Park, broke Matt Galloway's story on Radio-Canada's Metro Morning Friday at 7:10 am ET to discuss it.
