Premier Doug Ford invoking the notwithstanding clause after a judge ruled against a bill that would have cut down Toronto city council.
Bill 5 was proposed to cut down the number of wards in Toronto from 47 to 25. Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba said in his ruling, “It appears that Bill 5 was hurriedly enacted to take effect in the middle of the city’s election without much thought at all, more out of pique than principle.”
Councillor Elser Lee Archer, one of the three candidates running for Mayor of Madawaska Valley, says she sees what Ford is doing an undemocratic. “I think that’s it undemocratic the way he’s made his decision. Our society is based on a democracy not an aristocracy,” she says. She added she thinks he’s eroding democracy with this decision to use the notwithstanding clause.
Archer added that as someone who is running for Mayor, she’s concerned by this. The people who are running in elections invest money into their campaigns. With Toronto wards being cut from 47 to 25, she assumes that Ford isn’t proposing that the money paid back to the candidates that don’t have a ward.
Archer adds that cutting Toronto’s wards almost in half would be difficult for the remaining councillors to handle. “Could you imagine how crazy that will be with all the complaints coming into one councillors office,” Archer said. She added, “members of council will not be able to address the concerns of their constituents.”
My Barry’s Bay Now reached out Mayor Kim Love and Mayoral candidate Andrey Kaminski for comment, but did not hear back.