Canada: Toronto Council opposes Ontario bill reducing number of councillors
Toronto, July 31 (IBNS): Toronto Council has voted to oppose the new Ontario bill which is set to reduce the number of councillors from 47 to 25, media reports said.
The bill was introduced by Ontario premier Doug Ford on Monday.
The council also requested the provincial government to conduct a referendum on the number of wards and their boundaries before going on with the legislation.
Toronto Mayor John Tory has been quoted by CTV News, "Today, city council sent a strong message to Queen's Park that it opposes the process around the change to Toronto's ward boundaries."
"City council approved my call for the province to hold a binding referendum before proceeding with any changes to the Toronto ward boundaries."
He added, "Change of this magnitude should always happen with a degree of consultation that allows the public to be heard and I believe a referendum will ensure that opportunity."
The voting was followed by a heated debate at Toronto City Hall.
Ford on Friday unveiled his plan to reduce the Toronto council seats.
The premier even compared Ontario to Los Angeles, a city with a population of four million, which has only 15 city councillors.
Ford said the legislation, if passed, will save around $25 million of tax payers' money.
"I think Toronto taxpayers will be happy to trade a bunch of politicians at city hall for millions of dollars that can be reinvested in the city’s pressing priorities" Ford added.
The previous government, which was led by the Liberals, had increased the number of council seats from 44 to 47 in 2016.
Ford said his Progressive Conservative (PC) government is also planning to halt the previous government's decision to form elected regional chairs in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka regions.
(Reporting by Suman Das)
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