A TWO-STEP PROPOSAL
TO EMPOWER TORONTO AND OTHER LARGE CITIES
1. ADOPT A CITY CHARTER A City Charter will set out: • Jurisdiction: Where the city has exclusive authority to act, including decisions on its own governance. • Shared Authority: Where the city must act in concert with the province. • Revenue Sources: What taxes, fees and charges the city has sole authority to levy. The Charter would be negotiated between a city and the province, with extensive public consultation. It would be passed initially as provincial legislation, but upon passage, becomes a law that can be changed only by the city and its voters. The content of a City Charter may differ from city to city. |
2. AMEND THE CONSTITUTION An single-province amendment to the Canadian constitution would: • Enable the creation of City Charters in Toronto and other large Ontario cities that may want one. • Describe how to create a City Charter. • Describe how to amend a City Charter, with the provision that no change could be made without the express consent of the city. The Ontario government, the House of Commons and Senate would pass the amendment using the constitution's Section 43 amending formuula. The amendment would apply only to Ontario. Other provinces could in the future join the amendment or pass a similar one of their own. |
CONTENT OF THE CHARTER
We propose that initially, a constitutionally-protected City Charter for Toronto
should cover four broad areas:
Governance, Authority, Resources, and Protection.
Other cities may have different priorities.
should cover four broad areas:
Governance, Authority, Resources, and Protection.
Other cities may have different priorities.
Governance
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Inherent
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Resources
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Constitutional
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