Ontario seeking stay of council-cutting ruling

Yorkregion.com
September 18, 2018
The Canadian Press

The Ontario government will be in court today seeking a stay of a court decision that upended the province's plans to cut Toronto city council nearly in half in the middle of an election campaign.

Last week Justice Edward Belobaba ruled that Bill 5, which slashed Toronto's council to 25 seats from 47, violated freedom of expression rights for candidates and voters.

Premier Doug Ford has since reintroduced the bill and invoked a constitutional provision known as the notwithstanding clause to forge ahead with the council-cutting plan.

But the new bill won't be up for a final vote until Thursday at the earliest, and city staff have said the chances of running a fair election on Oct. 22 shrink with every day of uncertainty that goes by.

The stay application, which will be heard before three judges at the Ontario Court of Appeal, could result in Belobaba's ruling being put on hold until a formal appeal is heard.

If the province is successful, city staff would then immediately start planning for an election based on the 25-ward model rather than the 47-ward approach that went back into effect with Belobaba's decision.