The Ontario government has called a review of the City of Toronto Act of 1998 which merged the five communities of Metropolitan Toronto into one big City. If you hadn’t noticed this decision, it isn’t surprising. As former East York Mayor Alan Redway says in a release this week, he has not yet seen a single mention of this story in the media. The window to participate is tiny and it comes in the dead of summer. Mr. Redway said feels sure that Premier Kathleen Wynne is not aware of this since it is completely out of character with her belief in accessible local government but it is a glaring example of remote government in action which reinforce the divisions in our city.
The timing is unfortunate to say the least for those who hoped the wisdom of amalgamation would be given a proper airing. The release was July 2, 2015 and the window for calls for written submissions will close on Friday, August 7, 2015. Is this a quick summer kiss-off or what? There will be no public hearings and as Redway says: “This was not the form of provincial public review that was conducted every 10 years from 1953 to 1997 but apparently as in the name of an old movie This is as good as it gets. There will be no public hearings only written submissions that must be made by mail or email with the name and complete postal address of the sender if it is to be considered.”
SUBMISSIONS BY EMAIL
