Will it be 47 city councillors or 25?

One judge will decide the results of this number’s game Monday.

“Justice Belobaba advised all counsel this afternoon that his decision/judgement on the Bill 5 Toronto Council cut from 47/25 will be released on Monday morning at 8:00 a.m.,” tweeted Toronto lawyer Selwyn Pieters Saturday evening.

The future of Toronto’s political representation is at stake. It could also offer a glimpse into whether Premier Doug Ford’s change mantra has clear sailing or faces head winds.

How about a watch party at 8:00 a.m. on Monday September 10, 2018 at Paintbox Bistro in Regent Park as we await Justice Edward Belobaba's decision? People can then cheer, jeer, celebrate or cry over their coffee depending on which side of the issue they are situated. #topoli — Mr. Toronto Lawyer (@selwynpieters) September 9, 2018

I cannot predict which side Justice Belobaba decision will support on Bill 5 Toronto Council cut Challenge. However, if His Honour finds a section 2 (b) political expression Charter breach then the section 1 justification the province put forward may likely fail as it was weak. — Mr. Toronto Lawyer (@selwynpieters) September 9, 2018

Ford announced July 26 to halve the size of council and eliminate the regional chair elections as part of a streamlining he said would save taxpayers $25-million.

“It will only get worse if Toronto city council grows from 44 to 47 politicians,” Ford previously said. “People care about getting things done, they don’t care about politicians.”

But many politicians seemed to care he was cutting the number of them — the loudest being Mayor John Tory.

“It is my job to stand up for the City of Toronto (and) protect democracy that binds our society,” said Tory, who coincidentally trained under Belobaba, then a law professor at Osgoode Hall.

“When elections are meddled with, people, regardless of their political stripe, are rightly angry.”

It’s difficult to predict an outcome. On one hand, many councillors feel this is within the elected provincial government’s milieu and difficult for a court to overturn.

On the other, Ontario Superior Court justice Belobaba, who was appointed to the bench in 2005 during the height of then Premier Dalton McGuinty’s reign, has not shied away from making controversial decisions before.

In 2017, he rejected Sgt. Chris Speer’s widow Tabitha’s attempt to freeze the $10.5-million Trudeau government settlement to Omar Khadr, whose rights the government felt were violated at Guantanamo Bay.

“People might have a lot of opinions. But this is not a coffee shop. This is a court of law,” Belobaba was quoted in the Canadian Press.

“We don’t, thank goodness, in Canada have one law for Omar Khadr and one law for all other Canadians.”

Ford’s spokesperson Laryssa Waler said the premier’s office reserves comment until after the judge’s decision.

Tory’s spokesperson Don Peat said the mayor “looks forward to Monday’s decision” and “fully supported this legal action because he believes the province’s process, which lacked any public input whatsoever, was wrong and unacceptable.”

In one day, we will know what this judge thinks.

jwarmington@postmedia.com