It was a minor item during last week’s long city council meeting where transit plans and the disparity between downtown and suburban sidewalk snow clearing dominated the chatter. Some would even dismiss it as being merely symbolic. It was a big deal though.

Toronto councillors unanimously condemned Bill 21, the Quebec act that bans public servants from wearing religious symbols or having one’s face covered when giving or receiving public services. It was passed under the pretense of reasserting that Quebec is a secular province.

The summary of Toronto’s response read, in part, “Bill 21 is a strategic attempt to stifle and limit the civic participation of individuals who choose to wear religious symbols under the guise of secularism. This Bill disproportionately impacts Muslims, Sikhs and Jews who all participate in different forms of religious symbols.”

Indeed, the electric cross atop Mount Royal nor the gold and silver ones around the necks of many Quebecers have not been a problem for decades as it was and is possible to be a secular society and still allow people the freedom of religion, visible or not, a right protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Toronto council was joining Calgary and the Region of Peel in calling for a national campaign that underscores the harm the bill has on social cohesion and inclusion. Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman even called the bill grotesque. These pointed municipal responses to Bill 21 come after a federal election where Bill 21 loomed like an elephant in the country’s living room yet candidates took a mostly hands-off attitude toward it.

What’s remarkable about these city responses is that they are also unremarkable. Cities have a long tradition of taking the lead on issues while other, “higher” levels of government are much slower to respond, if they respond at all. Though municipal governments are often dismissed as merely service providers, filling pot holes, picking up garbage, and yes, sometimes clearing certain sidewalks of snow, they are the closest to the people and are much quicker to respond to threats or changes.

Cities lead on policy, so much so that in 2015 New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “We are the template for our national governments that so often hesitate.”

For instance, in 2005 the Civil Marriage Act was passed by the Canadian government making same-sex marriage legal. However, the lead-up to that included a 2003 Ontario Court of Appeal decision that ruled the Canadian law prohibiting same-sex marriage violated the charter. In response to the decision, long before there was a federal or provincial framework in place, the City of Toronto’s clerk immediately began issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples. Toronto became the epicentre of gay marriage in North America as couples flocked here from south of the border during a particularly buoyant Pride season.

Nearly two decades earlier when the AIDS plague was hitting cities hard and upper levels of government were dithering on even acknowledging the disease as a major threat, public health departments in cities such as Toronto and New York were on the streets doing prevention outreach and caring for those afflicted.

More recently, as Brexit threatened to undo important connections between London and the rest of Europe, Mayor Sadiq Khan became an outspoken opponent, declaring “London is open,” a sentiment at odds with the Westminster government. He even issued a joint statement with the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, that the cities would continue to co-operate regardless of Brexit.

When U.S. President Donald Trump was elected and targeted undocumented immigration, cities across that country declared themselves “sanctuary cities,” promising to not turn people in. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock even said, “You can count on your city. We’ve got your back” in a video addressing concerns over immigration, women’s rights and LGBT rights.

Climate? Canadian cities, even the big Albertan ones, have taken a lead on green solutions. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are also members of C40, a global network of cities working on climate issues.

Mayor John Tory has taken the lead of late in two ways. In September, when an anti-LGBT march was moving through Toronto, Tory spoke at “United for Love,” a hastily organized counterrally at Barbara Hall Park on Church Street. There he said, in part, “We’re about love, we’re about unity, we’re about understanding, we’re about acceptance. That’s what Toronto is and that’s what we are.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

In October, when members of Toronto’s transgender community felt threatened by a speaker who has argued against transgender rights, Tory issued a statement that he was disappointed in the library’s decision to allow the talk to go on, responding directly to people in his city who felt threatened in a place they once felt welcomed.

Of course, without action words are just words, but what might be just symbolism to some, to those who feel threatened it can feel like the city has their back.

Shawn Micallef is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @shawnmicallef

Read more about: