Ontario, Toronto back in court over Ford mid-election council cuts

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government and the City of Toronto are facing off again in court over Ontario's decision during the civic election to slash the number of council seats and the province's contention that there's no evidence the changes interfered with anyone's freedom of expression.

On Monday and Tuesday, the province's Court of Appeal is hearing from the province for a second time.

During both days of hearings, CBC News has been granted permission to have cameras in the courtroom.

It marks the latest chapter in a nearly year-long saga pitting Ford's government against city officials, which gripped the province during municipal election season last summer.

The central question now is whether the province's surprise changes interfered with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it came to the rights both of Toronto voters and hundreds of candidates vying for a spot at city hall in the Oct. 22, 2018, election.

A scathing decision from a lower court last September concluded just that, and deemed the Fordgovernment's legislation unconstitutional.

"The province has clearly crossed the line," Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba said in his ruling against the province.

The Court of Appeal later stayed that ruling, allowing the city to hold a 25-ward election after months of flip-flopping and frantic preparation.

While city officials aim to arguethe changes caused "unprecedented disruption" to candidates, voters, and the city, according to a factum submitted by Toronto's legal team, provincial lawyers say that's not the case.

"This is not a bill that impairs freedom of expression," said Robin Basu, a counsel for the attorney general, during the first day of proceedings on Monday.

He also suggested there is no evidenceany marginalized communities were disadvantaged by the province bringing in a 25-ward model.

"There's no gerrymandering here," Basu continued, referencing the controversial practice of boundary redrawing often used for political gain in the United States.

When asked by a member of the five-justice Court of Appeal panel why the province didn't simply wait until the next election to put forward this type of legislation, Basusaid that would mean a government having to wait four years before moving forward on its policy objectives.

Campaign was 'past the halfway mark'

Both in court on Monday, and through the year beforehand, Ford's government has maintained the legislation was meant to reduce "dysfunction" at Toronto's city hall.

Last July, the premier first announced his surprise decision to chop the number of wards from aplanned 47-ward system to 25 seatsaligned with provincial ridings.

"For too long, the people of Toronto have watched city council go around, and around and around in circles," Ford said at the time.

But according to city officials and critics of the province's changes, bigger concerns arosewhen Bill 5 came into force. At that point, theelection campaign was already "past the halfway mark," notes the city's factum.

Prior to voters heading to the polls, city clerk Ulli Watkisstold council the uncertainty was making it"virtually impossible" to hold a fair vote.

Her comments came as dozens of council hopefuls including many new faces who'd aspired to run under the expectation of alarger ward system found themselves suddenly up against one or more incumbents, dramatically reducing their chance of success.

Many of those candidates wound up bowing out, with some sharingstories of quitting jobs, selling homes, moving neighbourhoods and raising tens of thousands of dollars amid a process many deemed unfair.

"I really felt betrayed by the system," Chris Moise, a current Toronto school board trustee and former downtown council candidate, told CBC Toronto on Friday.

In court, city lawyer Glenn Chu said the case is now abouthow Bill 5 interfered with thefreedom of expression that was already in place by the time the province made changes to the system.

Even though there was timefor candidates to get their message out after the legislation was implemented, Chu stressed there was only one election andconfusion was already created, with voters spending as much time talking about Bill 5 as the electoral issues.

"We were given a megaphone," said Chu. "And then they smashed it."

The city's factumalso notes the lengthy process Toronto went through to settle on a planned 47-ward setup long before the 2018 election was even held: an extensive review launched in 2013, followed by approvals from both the Ontario Municipal Board in 2017 and the divisional court a year later.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mayor John Tory questioned the "outdated" laws allowing the province to "unilaterally" make changes to the government of the fourth largest city in North America in the middle of an election campaign.

The legal challenge now, he continued, is that the country's constitution deems municipalities like Toronto merely creatures of the province.

"You know you never know with courts," Tory added. "They're as unpredictable as sports."