August 19, 2018 Update: The map of the new 25 wards is now available online. Click here to see the map.
August 18, 2018 Update: Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act, 2018, was passed by the Government of Ontario and received Royal Assent on August 14, 2018. City Council has been reduced to 25 wards. To read a list of names for the 25 wards, click here.
There is a special City Council Meeting scheduled to take place on Monday, August 20th, 2018. The agenda for the meeting is available online. Click here to see the agenda and click here to read the background documents.
August 2nd, 2018 Update:
A number of news articles have been and continue to be written about the imposed changes to the City of Toronto’s City Council ward boundaries for the municipal election, scheduled to take place on October 22, 2018.
The new boundaries will mean that the SERRA area will be split in two (Ward 12 – St. Paul’s & Ward 15 – Don Valley West ), however we have every intention of keeping our residents’ association boundaries as they are today and have been for more than 50 years. Our commitment is to continue representing Davisville Village and South Eglinton residents. To see a map of each area, click on these links: St. Paul’s or Don Valley West.
What we know about the changes:
According to the news release, Ontario’s Government for the People Announces Reforms to Deliver Better Local Government here is what we know about the changes:
• The City of Toronto’s municipal wards will be aligned with the provincial and federal (25) electoral districts.
• The number of councillors will be reduced to 25 from 47. (Until recently, there were 44 councillors.)
• The school board trustees for Toronto will be aligned with the new ward boundaries, but the number of trustees will not change.
• September 14, 2018 is the new nomination extended deadline for some council candidates and school board trustees.
• Previously nominated candidates will be assisted through the process to transition to the new riding ward boundaries.
• The municipal election date of October 22, 2018 has not been changed.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has prepared a Q&A outlining how they will be handling the changes. Click here to read more.
Some candidates have already started campaigning!
The confusion remains with respect to which candidates will run for each of the 25 new wards. The provincial government’s announcement to align the wards to the existing provincial and federal ridings has created uncertainty for the candidates who had already started campaigning and knocking on doors before the announced ward boundary changes.
As a residents’ association representing the large SERRA catchment area, our concern is that the reduced number of councillors will lead to extreme under-representation. The development and population increase in our area alone will make it next to impossible for adequate representation in the SERRA neighbourhood, and especially in the Yonge-Eglinton and Davisville areas.
The population in our new ward would be larger than Kingston, Ontario!
We expect the population to increase by more than ten thousand in the SERRA area alone by the year 2025, and question how one councillor can effectively support such a large constituency in a regular work week. Our new ward would be bigger in terms of population than Kingston or comparable to Sudbury, which each have 12 councillors! It certainly makes you question the rationale behind this Provincial legislation.
Residents may not receive the local councillor’s knowledge and attention to address the unique needs of the residents living in a growing city with 2.8 million people, while other Ontario residents will.
Tell is what you think about the proposed changes.
Click here to take a short survey.
Communications from city councillors:
City Council will be holding a special meeting on August 20, 2018 to determine next steps and whether any legal actions can be taken. (Update: August 18, 2018 The agenda is now available online. Click here to visit the City of Toronto Website for details. Click here to read the background documents for the special meeting. )
In the meantime, policies prohibit city councillors from sending out any mass communications, however they may continue to post information on their websites. Councillor Josh Matlow’s website is here: https://joshmatlow.ca/
For a list of city councillors and their contact information please click here.
Some Toronto residents are already taking action!
Many Toronto residents are signing petitions and/or contacting the Premier directly.
Here are a few of the links:
Stop Ford: https://www.progresstoronto.ca/stopford
or https://you.leadnow.ca/petitions/hands-off-toronto
Contact the Premier by phone or email:
416-325-1941 or TTY/Teletypewriter (for the hearing impaired): 1-800-387-5559
https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/en/feedback/default.aspx
doug.ford@pc.ola.org
premier@ontario.ca
Some Recent News Articles:
How would Ontario’s plan to change Toronto politics work? An explainer
The legal case against Ford’s assault on local democracy
Doug Ford’s move to slash council barely scratches the surface of his powers, experts say
Tory forges plan to fight Ford’s council cutbacks
Opinion Article: Why Toronto should go to court over Ford’s proposal to truncate democracy
Former mayor David Miller on Doug Ford’s follies
City of Toronto elections update:
To read updates about the election and to see the maps of the 47 wards, please click here to visit the City of Toronto website.