SASKATOON—Liberal members of Parliament from Toronto unanimously condemned Thursday Premier Doug Ford’s decision to use the constitutional override clause to cut Toronto city council.

In a statement obtained by the Star, all 25 federal MPs from the city of Toronto called on all provincial MPPs to defeat Ford’s legislation tabled Wednesday at Queen’s Park, calling the premier’s resort to s. 33 — the “notwithstanding” clause never before invoked by Ontario — “heavy-handed and disrespectful.”

“We believe MPPs elected in Toronto have a responsibility to defend the city, its democratic institutions, and the rights of citizens to a free and fair municipal election. The people of Toronto deserve nothing less.”

They quoted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s declaration that the Liberal party will always “defend the Charter” and said “but this is not a partisan issue” noting former prime minister Brian Mulroney, premiers and municipal leaders “of all political stripes have denounced Ford’s triggering of the notwithstanding clause. The correct response to a court decision one disagrees with is to appeal.”

The statement — the first of its kind — is signed “The Toronto Liberal MPs” and it includes several high-profile cabinet ministers such as Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan, and Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen.

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It says that the elected representatives of the city “want to assure the people of Toronto that we understand and respect the critical role that city hall and local democracy play in building the communities in which we live.”

However Trudeau has already ruled out intervening in the dispute.

Julie Dabrusin, MP for Toronto-Danforth and a spokesperson for the caucus, told the Star that the caucus statement by “25 federal Liberal MPs saying that a strong Toronto is part of a strong Canada, when you have all of us imploring our MPPs in Queen’s Park to do what’s right,” that is a strong signal. She said the Toronto caucus is satisfied with Trudeau’s decision not to intervene.

“What we have right now is a constitutional process with people sitting in Queen’s Park with the ability to vote this down, and that is the proper process for showing how our democratic institutions work,” Dabrusin said in an interview. “And in addition, the provincial government is free to appeal that decision. They have the tools that they need to go forward without having to invoke this clause.”

Speaking in Winnipeg Tuesday, Trudeau said: “We’re disappointed by the provincial government in Ontario’s choice to invoke the notwithstanding clause, but I won’t be weighing in on the debate on how big Toronto municipal council should be,” he said.

“I will trust that Ontarians will reflect whether or not the provincial government made the right decision on overriding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on this issue,” said Trudeau, who met with Toronto Mayor John Tory on the topic Monday.

On Thursday afternoon, federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh issued a statement saying his party will call for an emergency meeting “to gather input from expert witnesses and discuss ways of working together with the provinces to protect the rights of Canadians.”

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“Our caucus is deeply troubled by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause. He is using the clause to suspend democratic rights in what appears to be a personal and petty vendetta against the City of Toronto,” the statement said.

Correction — Sept. 13, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said 24 members of Parliament from Toronto condemned Premier Doug Ford’s decision to use the “notwithstanding” clause. In fact, all 25 MPs from Toronto unanimously condemned Ford’s decision. Incorrect information was provided to the Star.

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