Premier Doug Ford used his new government’s majority muscle Tuesday to push through a controversial bill cutting the size of Toronto city council in half with municipal elections just 10 weeks away, a move NDP Leader Andrea Horwath called “a blatant abuse of power.”The legislation, named the Better Local Government Act, also scraps planned Oct. 22 elections for regional chairs in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka as it enlarges Toronto’s wards to match federal and provincial riding boundaries.“We have 25 MPs, 25 MPPs and we’re going to have 25 councillors,” Ford said in the Legislature, which adjourned until Sept. 24 after a rare summer sitting following the Progressive Conservatives’ June election victory.“The people want smaller government …. They want a city of Toronto that is functional, a city of Toronto that can build transit,” he added, insisting that having too many councillors has made debate on issues lengthy and cumbersome.Horwath and other critics of the bill said it flouts local democracy — and noted Ford, who lost the Toronto mayoralty to John Tory in 2014, did not specifically campaign on the changes.“Now he pretends like he was talking about it all along …. This is, by definition, a hidden agenda,” she thundered in the Legislature during heated final debate, charging the premier is “drunk on power.”The bill, introduced suddenly two weeks ago when the Legislature was first expected to rise for a summer break, will leave an “ugly mark” that will haunt the Progressive Conservatives for years, Horwath said.“The premier just can’t rip up the election rulebook,” she added, noting Ford was a city councillor from 2010 to 2014 while his late brother, Rob, was mayor during a chaotic term.“It’s about an insecure and vindictive premier looking to settle scores and control local democracy.”The legislation does not ...
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