Doug Ford´s request for council to address `guns and gangs´ at special meeting isn´t possible, city says
(The Star Toronto Raptors)

Premier Doug Ford has made a request to Toronto council that the city clerks say can’t be met, which is to match the province’s $25 million investment in the “fight� against guns and gangs at its special meeting Monday.No new business can be added to the meeting called to exclusively consider the Ford government’s new law that cuts the number of city wards almost in half, said deputy city clerk John Elvidge.Ford, an ex-city councillor, sent an open letter to Mayor John Tory on Friday morning, urging him to take immediate action to address “the deadliest gun-related homicide rate in years.�There have been 31 fatal shootings in 2018 in Toronto as of Monday, the highest number in the last five years, but not far off the 26 shootings that occurred in 2016 between January and early August. Ford’s government announced earlier this month it would be adding $25 million to the $76 million it already provides “to support the fight against gangs and guns in Toronto,� the letter said.Ford requested the federal government also match the investment. “I implore you, along with Toronto city council, to address this critical issue at your meeting Aug. 20 and add funding for guns and gangs to the city council agenda. The people of Toronto, and by extension Ontario, need and deserve to feel safe in the city and our great province,� Ford wrote. He added that after that passage of Bill 5, the legislation dictating Toronto is to have 25 wards rather than 47 in the upcoming election, he is “very pleased city council will be able to conduct business for the citizens of Toronto more efficiently and effectively.�Ford claims the cuts to council will save taxpayers $25 million over four years. Samantha Beattie is a city hall reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @samantha_kb