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BEYOND
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"Toronto and its suburbs and adjacent
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Charter City Toronto began with the goal of establishing a constitutionally protected City Charter for Toronto.
As a Toronto group, we didn't feel it was our place to promote the idea for other municipalities. But in the months since we have been talking about Toronto becoming a Charter City, the provincial government's assault on local government in Ontario has continued and intensified (as you can read on our News page, and on our page about the need for a Constitutional Amendment).
With each new intrusion into municipal jurisdiction (the latest being the province's revocation of municipalities ability to determine how their own elections are run), there has been a lot of interest from outside Toronto in the Charter City concept.
We have been talking to representatives of some of these municipalities, such as Burlington, Kingston, London and others to explain our proposals and the rationale behind them, in the hope that other large Ontario cities may decide they would also like to adopt a City Charter, thus strengthening the movement in the province.
We recognize there is no one-size-fits-all City Charter. But because City Charters are bespoke arrangements negotiated between a city and the province, we believe there is plenty of scope for large Ontario municipalities to increase their authority, resources and protection through the City Charter mechanism.
Then there is the question of the Greater Toronto Area. Many city functions transcend municipal boundaries and nowhere in the province is this more true than in the GTA, where large municipalities are separated by the width of a single street. Transit, human services and the natural environment are three good examples. This has led some to suggest that a Charter for the city of Toronto alone is too limited.
With each new intrusion into municipal jurisdiction (the latest being the province's revocation of municipalities ability to determine how their own elections are run), there has been a lot of interest from outside Toronto in the Charter City concept.
We have been talking to representatives of some of these municipalities, such as Burlington, Kingston, London and others to explain our proposals and the rationale behind them, in the hope that other large Ontario cities may decide they would also like to adopt a City Charter, thus strengthening the movement in the province.
We recognize there is no one-size-fits-all City Charter. But because City Charters are bespoke arrangements negotiated between a city and the province, we believe there is plenty of scope for large Ontario municipalities to increase their authority, resources and protection through the City Charter mechanism.
Then there is the question of the Greater Toronto Area. Many city functions transcend municipal boundaries and nowhere in the province is this more true than in the GTA, where large municipalities are separated by the width of a single street. Transit, human services and the natural environment are three good examples. This has led some to suggest that a Charter for the city of Toronto alone is too limited.
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There is currently no regional structure within the Greater Toronto Area capable of becoming a single Charter City. In the absence of such a structure, there is no choice but to work with the existing municipalities and their boundaries.
This proposal makes it clear that the city should have the ability to enter into agreements with other municipalities to deal with shared issues on a bilateral or regional basis. It can be anticipated that other municipalities other than Toronto will seek to establish City Charters of their own, and the proposal outlined here can be a model on which they can build. Whether or not they do opt to pursue Charter status, neighbouring municipalities can and should work closely together to ensure that the issues which cross over municipal boundaries are reasonably addressed. If they do choose that path, then a loose or formal alliance of Charter Cities could be established to provide some sort of regional governance. If Toronto can secure a charter, other cities in Ontario and across Canada can, working with provincial officials, use Toronto’s example to secure a charter for themselves. We see no reason why what is proposed here should be limited just to Toronto. |
The GTA from space.
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chartercitytoronto@gmail.com
