You probably don't want to talk about Toronto, but maybe we should
This week's Market Squared points out that if Doug Ford wanted to make this municipal election about governance, he probably did it in the worst way possible
about an hour ago by:
Adam A. Donaldson
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Meanwhile, in considering the changes to Toronto council, one can’t help but remember that Ford lost the mayoral race in 2014 to John Tory, and before Brown’s ouster, Ford was game for a re-match.
At his remarks last Friday, Ford said that reducing the number of councillors by nearly half will “dramatically improve the decision-making process," which is a curious comment coming from someone that missed 30 per cent of the votes during their one and only term on council.
In 2014, Ford actually missed 53 per cent of the votes.
One would think that that someone concerned about the “waste and mismanagement in government” would show up for every vote. One would think that if creating efficiency in council was such a priority, then Ford wouldn’t have thrown in the towel after one term. Until his brother’s illness, Doug Ford was quite content to leave the governing business to his younger brother.
So where’s the fire? Where’s the consideration?
Keep in mind that this is the same Premier that wants to do the “largest consultation ever in Ontario’s history” for the sex ed curriculum. Why must Doug Ford talk to everyone in the province, seemingly, before he decides its okay if a six-year-old knows that a penis is called a “penis”, but changing the government of Ontario’s largest city is just another one of those things you announce on a Friday morning?
Having said all of that, the government, and how it’s presently structured, isn’t sacrosanct. The Municipal Act, or the City of Toronto Act for that matter, did not come down from the mountain etched on stone tablets by God himself.
Even Guelph councillors, I think, would not mind the opportunity to explore if the current way our cities our governed is the best way.
In our city, we’ve got 12 part-time councillors, and then the council of the County of Wellington each controlling certain segments of our daily needs. And on top of that, there’s provincial oversight on some sectors, federal jurisdiction over others.
Ford could be correct, we might have too much government, and something more streamlined might provide welcome and practical reform, but how can we trust that the Premier has practical needs in mind when his announcement so clearly targets his political adversaries?
It’s worth noting too that this comes from the man who thought a monorail and 1.6-million-square-foot “megamall” was exactly what the Toronto waterfront needed, but no, I’m sure this wonkish stuff is where Ford really shines.