18 - 2 VOTE
City Council Ratifies Creation of Charter City Task Force
Toronto City Council has approved the creation of a
Citizens' Advisory Body on Municipal Autonomy and Effective Governance.
Citizens' Advisory Body on Municipal Autonomy and Effective Governance.
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The vote, on February 5, was 18-2 with 6 councillors absent from the late evening session--a robust endorsement that gives the Task Force the necessary political legitimacy to attract members with both competency in critical areas of municipal governance and perhaps a bit of public profile.
The full council vote follows an earlier unanimous vote by the city's Executive Committee to endorse the project. Now, for the first time, proponents of greater city status, authority and revenues will have an official forum in which to explore all those things—including very specifically, a constitutionally-protected City Charter. Next steps include who will serve on the advisory board, what the terms of reference will be, to whom the body will report and what exactly is the scope of the advisory body's work. Our position is that the board should comprise citizens at large who have a broad, high-level knowledge and experience in urban affairs. Consideration should be given to choosing some members with specific expertise in key areas such as municipal governance and financing, constitutional law, intergovernmental relations, etc. It should broadly include people from the four sections of the city: Etobicoke, Downtown, North York and Scarborough and represent a diversity of lived experience. At the same time, it needs to be small enough to be nimble, and to enable a real conversation internally before going forward to consult with the city as a whole. We will advocate these principles in the process of setting up the Task Force. The body has a limited time to work; it will exist only until November 2026 (the end of council's current term), though it can be reconstituted to continue its work after the next municipal election. Thanks again to all those who took the time to urge the city to create this board; it has the potential to be a milestone development in the history of Toronto. Please stay tuned for developments and to get the latest news on a timely basis, please subscribe to our newsletter by clicking the buttons at the top or bottom of this page. Debate on Charter City motion begins at 01:20:29 with introduction of alternative motion by Councillor Stephen Holyday (Etobicoke Centre). Debate on main motion follows.
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Our Message is Getting Through!The debate at City Hall on February 5 demonstrated that the core messages of Charter City Toronto have begun to resonate among the highest political circles in the city: that in order to succeed as a 21st century city, Toronto needs increased authority over its own affairs and new, robust, permanent and protected financial arrangements that give the city the resources it needs.
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