This past week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau disagreed and distanced himself from Ontario premier Doug Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to proceed in his campaign to pass the Better Local Government Act (BLGA). The goal of this act is to shrink the city council significantly, from 44 members to just 25, in order to cut government costs and increase the speed of legislation.
By using the notwithstanding clause, Ford is able to override a judge’s ruling that his act goes against the Charter. He is also going against public opinion and 25 members of parliament as he pursues said act.
Ford’s reasoning for this change is inherently flawed. Passing legislation is based on a city’s priorities, the available funding, the council’s autonomy, and more. Of these, the council’s autonomy is most affected, as there are fewer voices and advocates to vote in. The primary benefit of this new act is faster voting and greater process efficiency, but that may come at a severe cost of poorer legislation quality.
Furthermore, not only would Ford’s act undermine judicial independence, it also could undermine Toronto’s upcoming elections. The act could undermine the candidates’ freedom of expression but more importantly, by cutting the size of the city council, it will increase the remaining seats’ constituencies and redraw electoral lines in the middle of a major election.
This change would likely catch voters off-guard when they reach the polls, and could seriously damage the effectiveness of Toronto’s city council. Both of these could be incredibly damaging to the process and public perceptions of democracy.
