Petition: Call for a Meeting of City Council on Bill 39
On the heels of the historic election of new and diverse progressive voices to city hall, Mayor John Tory is working closely with Doug Ford to pass a disturbingly undemocratic power grab (Bill 39) that allows the mayor to win votes with the support of only a third of city councillors.
This is happening without consultation with residents and without any discussion at Toronto City Council. Mayor Tory went directly to Doug Ford to ask for these powers.
Over 6,000 people have signed our petition opposing Bill 39. Now it’s time to use our tool to send a message to your local city councillor and the mayor requesting an urgent meeting of City Council on Bill 39.
About Bill 39
November 16, 2022 people were surprised to learn that Mayor John Tory had requested the power to pass votes with only the support of 1/3 of city councillors. This is being put forward at Queen’s Park through Bill 39 which you can read here.
Edward Keenan from the Toronto Star calls this a “a shameful act committed by shameless people.” He says Bill 39 makes the mayor “close to a dictator. And it’s a disembowelling of Toronto’s local democracy”
5 of Toronto’s former mayors have come together to send a letter to Toronto’s current Mayor John Tory, urging him to reject the undemocratic powers he requested of Doug Ford that would allow him to win votes with the support of only a third of city councillors. See their letter here.
On November 24, Mayor Tory voted against discussing Bill 39 at the City Council meeting. Instead he said the Bill would be discussed at the next meeting of Council on December 14 — which will be too late. Right now Bill 39 is at a Provincial Standing Committee and in a matter of days it will be in its third and final reading at Queen’s Park. In fact, the legislature stops meeting for the year after December 8 and it is very likely the Bill will be passed by then. City Council needs to meet before Queen’s Park passes this Bill.
Find out more about Bill 39 and join over 6,000 others in opposing it by signing the petition here: progresstoronto.ca/our-city