NDP Leader Andrea Horwath compared Ontario Premier Doug Ford to a 鈥渄ictator鈥� after he announced Friday plans to redraw ward boundaries, effectively slashing the size of city council and cancelling a number of regional elections.
鈥淢r. Ford seems to believe that he is the king of Ontario. He鈥檚 behaving like a dictator,鈥� said Horwath, the province鈥檚 opposition leader. 鈥淔or the Premier to cancel elections where his political rivals or enemies of the past are running is deeply, deeply chilling. It is an assault on democracy.鈥�
Ford revealed Friday that he would introduce legislation to cut the number of city councillors in Toronto almost by half, which would dramatically alter the ward boundaries to match federal and provincial ridings.
The move also radically changes Toronto鈥檚 political landscape before the Oct. 22 municipal election.
Ford鈥檚 proposal, if passed by the legislature, would cancel regional chair elections in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka regions.
Ford called Toronto city hall 鈥渢he most dysfunctional political arena in the country.鈥�
鈥淲e have 44 people trying to make a decision that can鈥檛 make a decision,鈥� he said during a press conference announcing the Better Local Government Act.
Political analyst and columnist Jim Warren called Ford鈥檚 announcement the move of a 鈥減olitical assassin鈥� done 鈥渋n the stealth of dark.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 payback time to all these city councillors,鈥� said Warren. 鈥淚t was payback time for people who really thumbed their nose at his brother when he was mayor and when (Doug) was a city councillor.鈥�
Horwath wasn鈥檛 the only politician to speak out against the surprise move. Former Toronto city councillor and mayoral candidate Olivia Chow called the premier 鈥淜ing Ford, or Emperor Ford for that matter.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 really not fair for the city of Toronto,鈥� she told 麻豆影视 Channel, noting that if the proposed changes go through, Toronto鈥檚 councillors would each represent more than 100,000 people.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of people. If you鈥檙e thinking of all across Canada, most municipal councillors would be representing a few thousand people, at most over 10,000. Not 100,000.鈥�
Former Toronto mayor David Miller spoke about what he characterized as 鈥渃ontempt鈥� for city dwellers.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if Mr. Ford is trapped by his own ideology or it鈥檚 some personal motivation, but this is a really egregious decision done in the worst possible way,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t indicates a contempt for the people of Toronto and a contempt for local government.鈥�
John Campbell, councillor for Etobicoke Centre, said he was 鈥渄isappointed.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 a little bit stunned by the way that this happened,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think ultimately it鈥檚 going to lead to poorer governance and oversight of our bureaucracy.鈥�
A few hundred people gathered in the early evening outside city hall during a rally where Horwath continued her criticism of the decision.
鈥淓arth to Mr. Ford. You鈥檙e doing the wrong thing here. This is not acceptable,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ew Democrats will be standing up day in and day out to try and push back against this undemocratic Premier and his desire to shut down democracy in the city of Toronto.鈥�
Also at the Nathan Philips Square rally, Liberal MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood Mitzie Hunter proclaimed 鈥渢his is our city.鈥�
鈥淭he type of city we have is shaped by the will of the people, not by one person,鈥� she said.
But another group of councillors came out in support of the premier, including Jim Karygiannis, councillor for Scarborough-Agincourt.
鈥淚鈥檓 ecstatic that this is happening,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about time this happened. The fewer politicians we have the better it is.鈥�
Etobicoke Lakeshore councillor Justin Di Ciano echoed that sentiment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be better decision making at city hall and I think that benefits Torontonians as a whole,鈥� he said.
Though Ford鈥檚 major political shakeup has been divisive, provincial governments have the constitutional right to shape municipalities, municipal law expert John Mascarin said.
鈥淐onstitutionally, the province, the provincial government has the authority to come in and create a municipality, change a municipality, and get rid of a municipality,鈥� he said.
