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Q Tory said he is open to the idea of reducing the number of councillors, but “what (the city) doesn’t need is change being rammed down our throats without a second of public consultation.” He wants to have a referendum.

A Well, the council is limited. The province holds all the cards here, and the province has the constitutional authority to say “No, we’re going to do it like this and we’re going to ram it down your throat.”

Q Isn’t there a section in the City of Toronto Act that bars government from changing ward boundaries during an election year?

A Yes, but that applies to the city. The province can change it.

Q So is there anything Tory can actually do about this?

A There is a provision in section 1 of the City of Toronto Act that talks about consultation for the purpose of maintaining a relationship based on mutual respect, consultation and cooperation. It says that it is in the best interest of the province and city to maintain an ongoing consultation about matters of municipal interest.

Photo by Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press

Q Could that be used as an argument against the province in court?

A To be honest, I don’t know. There may be a challenge based on effective representation. There may be some sort of charter challenge under section 7 of the act or equality perhaps. You could have some arguments. I’m not sure that they’re winner arguments. But I don’t think you can get an injunction to try to stop the Ontario legislature from doing something that it has the valid legal authority to do. You may be able to challenge it afterwards, but you may not be able to do something beforehand. That is my view.