Other questions to ask Torontonians if $7M referendum gets green light

So Mayor John Tory considers hitting the “pause button” on the province’s Bill 5 –namely the much-anticipated legislation to right-size council — a “sign of strength.”

That is what the mayor wrote in a Aug. 10 letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, along with another official request to the province to hold a “binding referendum” on the move first, or to allow the city to put a question about the council downsizing on the 2018 municipal ballot.

In that letter, Tory also advised Ford that the sudden move is contrary to the spirit of the City of Toronto Act and may be against the law. He noted that the city of Toronto’s legal team is looking into whether Bill 5 violates the rights of city residents to “fair and effective representation” — with plans to report back to a special council meeting Aug. 20.

I’m not sure what the mayor stands to gain from a letter like this other than showing the leftist hysterics on council — who have predicted the end of democracy as we know it — that he’s trying to do something.

Frankly I think the legislation is a done deal.

I can’t for the life of me understand how threatening costly legal action at taxpayers’ expense or proposing a $7-million referendum (the figure estimated in 2012 to run a similar referendum on establishing a casino in Toronto) would build goodwill with the province or taxpayers, most of whom are in favour of this move.

All they would see is countless tax dollars wasted on a self-serving fight — which they probably won’t win — while being told there is no money to fix cracks in their sidewalks and for streets that are certainly far worse than I’ve ever seen them (from atop my bike too).

To me, it feeds exactly into the argument why a right-sizing of council is so desperately needed.

It is always easy to spend Other People’s Money isn’t it? For once, just once, can council just stick to the knitting? After all, there are no shortage of issues plaguing this city.

However, if the mayor and council are so intent on a referendum and the $7-million is being spent anyway, I propose we include a number of other questions:

Are you for or against the King St. pilot and do you favour making the pilot area (Bathurst to Jarvis) permanent (a dedicated streetcar zone) once the year is up in November?
Are you for or against bike lanes on major arterials like Bloor St., Danforth Ave. and Yonge St. north of Sheppard?
Are you for or against safe injection sites? Should they be placed in residential neighbourhoods?
Are you for or against a ban on handguns in Toronto?
Should residents be given a reasonable opportunity to provide feedback before a respite shelter opens in their neighbourhood?
These questions all relate to policies that were rammed down the throats of Toronto citizens and businesses with minimal consultation, if at all.

You might say in most of these cases the councillors involved did not provide “effective or fair” representation and the “rights” of residents were violated.

That was with 44 councillors.

Heck, I think I’ve just proven why the right-sizing of council is the right thing to do — and that’s without a $7-million referendum.

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