News broke yesterday morning about Doug Fords proposal to cut the number of Toronto Councillors but what does that mean for the new Ward 38?
According to a news release from the Ford's office the Act would do 4 main things.
Align the City of Toronto's municipal wards and the number of Councillors with the number and configuration of the current 25 provincial and federal electoral districts
Allow for the redistribution of Toronto-area school board trustees to align with the proposed new ward boundaries, while maintaining the existing number of trustees
Extend the nomination deadline for some council candidates and school board trustees from July 27 to September 14, 2018, with additional regulations to help previously nominated candidates transition to the new riding ward boundaries
Amend the Municipal Act and the Municipal Elections Act to reverse changes, introduced in 2016, that mandate the election of new regional chairs in York, Peel, Niagara and Muskoka Regions and return the system that was in place prior to 2016. Other regional chair elections will remain unchanged
The deadline to enter the Council and School Board races have been extended to September 14th but it is unclear whether the bill will pass through the Legislative Assembly by that time.
For our area that means that, if passed, this act would split the bluffs up annexing newly added Guildwood and half of Scarborough Village while adding communities north of the tracks and east of Victoria Park Ave to Eglinton Ave. Essentially the new boundaries would be the same as the Provincial and Federal Electoral District of Scarborough-Southwest.
The deadline to enter the Council and School Board races have been extended to September 14th but it is unclear whether the bill will pass through the Legislative Assembly by that time. We have reached out to the Premieres Office for comment on the matter this afternoon, however we have yet to receive a response.
Reactions to this potential change have been primarily negative from existing council with the exception of a handful of Councillors. Current Ward 43 Councillor Paul Ainslie tweeted, "I am definitely against it. I will do everything I can to stop it!!" Some candidates have also said that they will be withdrawing from the race should the bill pass. Gerard Arbour a candidate for the new Ward 38 posted on his Facebook page, "It would basically mean the loss of Guildwood Village and half of Scarborough Village from a continuous bluffs ward. An opportunity to manage the waterfront, parks and Kingston Road uniting 5 unique heritage Scarborough Bluffs Communities would be lost. That is why I will be running in another direction from running if this new ward goes down, as this makes no sense even though I still will live in the newer ward."
You can find out more about the proposed bill here.
As always I would love to hear your comments, please feel free to leave a comment below or tweet to @CliffcrestView.