Judge rules province has no right to cut Toronto council

An Ontario judge has ruled the province had no right to slash the size of Toronto’s city council in the middle of an election campaign.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba handed down his decision early Monday that effectively struck down Bill 5, known as the Local Better Government Act.

The provincial bill would have cut the number of seats nearly in half, from 47 to 25.

Premier Doug Ford had argued the move would improve decision-making and save $25 million.

Re: the judge’s ruling this morning, I’ll have more to say about this at noon. Stay tuned…. #onpoli

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) September 10, 2018

According to The Canadian Press, Belobaba accepted arguments from city lawyers, who challenged that reducing the number of councillors in the middle of an election is “discriminatory and arbitrary,” and violates the charter.

The bill also cancels planned elections for the head of council position in the regional municipalities of Niagara, Muskoka, Peel and York, turning them into appointed roles.