An inside look at how a Toronto city council revolt against ‘strong mayor’ powers came together -- and why it fell apart

A co-ordinated attempt to force a council vote on the extraordinary powers being granted John Tory was defeated by a single vote this week.

Thestar.com
Nov. 28, 2022
Ben Spurr

A co-ordinated attempt to force a council vote on the extraordinary powers being granted to Toronto’s mayor was defeated by a single vote on Thursday when a handful of key councillors sided with John Tory to block debate of the issue, according to city hall sources.

The unsuccessful effort was an early test of the ability of Tory’s critics to muster enough support to challenge his agenda this term, and offered a glimpse of the still fluid alliances on a council that has a high number of new faces after last month’s municipal election.

From interviews with city hall insiders, the Star has pieced together how the mini revolt was supposed to unfold, and how it fell just short.

The push was organized by councillors opposed to Ontario’s Bill 39, the “strong-mayor” legislation that would grant the mayor the authority to pass some bylaws with the support of just one-third of council. Mayor Tory requested the province give him the new power, which has been described by critics as an attack on the most basic tenet of democracy.

The mayor could only use the provision to advance provincial priorities, and he’s promised to make limited use of it.

“I will continue to work with the council and those who want to work with me,” he told council Wednesday.

Bill 39 wasn’t on council’s agenda for its first meeting of the new term this week, and rules prohibit members from introducing new business at their inaugural session. Instead the group of councillors, which included longtime progressive critics of Tory’s like Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park) and Josh Matlow (Ward 12, Toronto--St. Paul’s) as well as newly elected members, hoped to compel a debate on it using a procedural manoeuvre.

A city report on a separate piece of provincial legislation, Ontario’s sweeping new housing bill, was on Thursday’s agenda. According to three sources, whom the Star has agreed not to name to allow them to disclose private discussions at city hall, the councillors planned to induce Speaker Frances Nunziata into ruling discussion of Bill 39 out of order during the debate on the housing plan.
That would allow them to challenge the speaker’s ruling, which would trigger a council vote on whether to uphold her decision. If a majority of council voted to overturn it, that would open the door for discussion of Bill 39 at Thursday’s meeting.

“The strategy was to provoke the speaker to rule on it,” said one source.

According to the sources, councillors had prepared a motion that would have requested the province withdraw Bill 39. The city has no power to block provincial legislation, but the councillors believed it was important to record council’s objections to the bill before it’s passed by the Ontario PC government. That could happen before council’s next scheduled meeting in December, when city staff are expected to present a report on the strong-mayor powers.

Debate on the issue, which would have taken place in a council chamber that on Thursday was packed with residents invited to city hall by progressive groups to oppose Bill 39, would have also kept political pressure on Tory and Premier Doug Ford, who have faced intense criticism about the one-third provision since it was announced last week.

As council debated the housing plan, Coun. Alejandra Bravo (Ward 9, Davenport) used her time to ask questions of city staff about Bill 39, in what sources said was an attempt to get Nunziata to rule her out of order. When Nunziata didn’t, Matlow tried again, peppering his remarks to staff with references to Bill 39.

At the end of Matlow’s allotted five minutes of questions, Nunziata finally stepped in and said “Bill 39 is not before us.” Perks stood up and asked whether she was formally ruling council could not discuss or move motions on the strong mayor legislation. When she said yes, he challenged her.

The ensuing council vote was 13-12 in favour of upholding Nunziata’s decision, which effectively blocked debate of the legislation. Tory and his closest allies voted to back her, while Perks, Matlow, Bravo, and other progressives voted against.

The result came as a shock to at least some of the councillors hoping to force debate on Bill 39.

“I think Gord believed that the votes were there and was disappointed,” said the same source.

A small number of potential swing votes on council sided with the mayor to uphold the speaker’s ruling, including Paul Ainslie (Ward 24, Scarborough-Guildwood) and Shelley Carroll (Ward 17, Don Valley North), who don’t always side with Tory but are on his executive this term. Coun. Jaye Robinson (Ward 15, Don Valley West), who has been a Tory ally, didn’t vote.

But some councillors opposed to the legislation were most surprised that Dianne Saxe, the newly elected representative of Ward 11, University-Rosedale, voted with Tory. Saxe told her residents before the meeting she had “serious questions” about the expanded mayoral powers and wanted more public discussion of the bill.

Coun. Dianne Saxe, right, voted for a motion that effectively to shut down debate on Bill 39.

“We had understood that Dianne Saxe was going to vote with us,” said a second city hall insider.

In an interview, Saxe said that while she was aware other councillors were concerned about Bill 39, she had no advance knowledge there would be an effort to put the issue up for debate, and she never offered assurances that she would join one.

Instead, Saxe said she voted to uphold Nunziata’s ruling because it was clear to her Bill 39 was separate from the report on housing policy.

“I do strongly agree with Councillor Perks that city council should hold a debate about Bill 39 before it’s passed by the Ford government,” but Nunziata’s decision was “factually correct,” Saxe said.

Saxe’s vote was notable as her colleagues and city hall watchers wait to see how she fits between Tory’s centre-right administration and the mayor’s left-leaning critics. Her University-Rosedale ward was previously represented by Mike Layton, a leading council progressive.

Saxe, former deputy leader of the Green Party of Ontario, said her vote Thursday wasn’t an indication she’s more likely to side with Tory than with his opposition. “But it does indicate that I care whether we follow the rules,” she said.

Councillors involved in the effort declined to publicly discuss their plan.

Tory’s office declined to answer questions about Thursday’s vote.

But the mayor has previously defended the one-third power by saying it could be necessary to implement controversial policies that would permit denser development in residential neighbourhoods, which he says are required to tackle Toronto’s housing crisis. He’s said voters gave him a strong mandate to pursue such measures when they elected to a third term last month.

“I am doing what people sent me here to do as the mayor,” he told council Wednesday.