New Toronto city council must deal with 25-ward reality

Thestar.com
October 23, 2018
David Rider

Now that Toronto has a new city council after months of chaos and uncertainty, city staff and politicians must turn their minds to how the new 25-ward system will actually work.

Many things from the previous 44-ward reality must change. That includes how city committees work and their composition, now that there are far fewer politicians to populate them. Also, how the reduced ranks of councillors will oversee city boards and agencies, and a reconfiguration of the council chamber itself.

Toronto’s new city council is expected to meet in December to consider “urgent business” including assessing the impact of the province’s ward cuts.

Between now and early December, all elected members of council, including the mayor, will make a “declaration of office” privately with the city clerk.

They will gather for the first time Dec. 4 at the first meeting of the new council. The gathering is largely ceremonial, traditionally with an address by the mayor, a speech by an invited guest, and potentially a ceremonial swearing-in.

Council is expected meet again later in December to consider “urgent business” including assessing the impact of the council cut and reorganizing itself including how to make appointments to committees and boards.

Council must also adopt new boundaries for community councils -- the subsets of council based on geography which make decisions on the most local issues.

Read more: For up-to-the-minute results, visit the Star’s municipal election page.

The clerk’s office is expected to provide reorganization recommendations, with council itself possibly fine-tuning the changes early in 2019.

But the new smaller council, imposed by the provincial government of Premier Doug Ford months after a 47-ward election had launched, will be functioning with a pending appeal of the legislation that forced the change.

The appeal is scheduled for June 10 and 11.

The city and others originally fought to have the legislation shut down after Ford suddenly announced his plans to interfere on July 27. A Superior Court judge ruled in favour of those fighting the legislation, called Bill 5, finding it was unconstitutional. The province then asked the Court of Appeal to essentially put that decision on hold pending an appeal. In September, the Court of Appeal sided with the province and granted a stay of the ruling, assuring the election would be held with 25 wards instead of 47.

But the actual appeal still has to be heard and the court must rule on whether Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba erred in his decision on Bill 5.

In a recent endorsement of the Court of Appeal, Justice Robert Sharpe said it was not feasible for all parties to prepare for the appeal before the Oct. 22 election or even before the new council is up and running.

The appeal will be heard by a rare five-member panel of judges. If they overrule Belobaba’s decision, there is likely no effect on council. The city and others could appeal that decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

But if the panel agrees that Ford’s council cut was unconstitutional, it’s not clear what the court will order.

Some have questioned if the new 25-ward council would then be seen as illegitimate and whether a new election would have to be called. It’s expected the province would ask for time to craft new legislation. That is all at the discretion of the court.