Julie Dabrusin, the Liberal MP for Toronto—Danforth, is urging the federal government to consider allowing charter cities in order to protect the City of Toronto from provincial overreach.
In a petition tabled in the House of Commons this week, Dabrusin argued city charters would clarify municipal powers, such as the right to manage bike lanes on local streets.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford “has chosen to overturn decisions made by the duly elected officials of the City of Toronto, most recently by tabling provincial legislation to remove certain bicycle lanes from the streets of the City of Toronto,” the petition reads.
Cities are creatures of the province, meaning they do not have constitutionally protected rights of their own.
This principle is what allowed Ford to slash the size of Toronto City Council in 2018, a move that was upheld by the Supreme Court.
If Toronto were granted the right to develop a city charter, Dabrusin said it could earn exclusive authority over municipal issues and avoid “frustrating interventions” from the provincial government.
The charter would also “clarify” how the province and city share various responsibilities.
The MP’s idea is not a new one.
Following Ford’s council cut, an advocacy group called Charter City Toronto began making the case for charter cities.
Enacting a charter in the City of Toronto would require a negotiated agreement between the city and Queen’s Park, as well as amending the constitution to enshrine the city’s new rights, per the group’s proposal.
Dabrusin acknowledged the difficulty of getting this done.
“As far as I understand, the options at the federal level are very difficult and will likely require provincial support,” she wrote in a letter to her constituents Friday.
“But the conversation and review of options is important,” she added.
