The @ONgov’s swift passing of #Bill5, cutting the size of Toronto’s city council, surprised many across Canada. Discover how this controversial bill broke the mould on #DemocraticProcess. ow.ly/pExs30lGdAM #Thread below. [1/10] #OnPoli #CdnPoli @IRPP
When #Toronto City Council reviewed its own ward boundaries starting in 2014, there were 24 public meetings, 100+ in-person meetings, surveys and online engagement. 2/11 ow.ly/cjw330lGdFr
The previous #Ontario government created an expert panel which held 20+ public meetings before it added two new ridings. 3/10 ow.ly/k96730lGdHV
Federally, the current government first ran on a promise to reform elections, then commissioned an online engagement project that got 300,000+ responses. 4/10 ow.ly/1V2Y30lGdMI
The Government of Premier @fordnation made no effort to engage the public on #Bill5, during the election or after. That doesn’t compare well to other governments (of all stripes) doing similar work. 5/10
On issues related to how politics is practiced, governments need to make a real effort to build consensus with political adversaries. In the case of #Bill5? Not so much. 6/10
#Bill5 got 4 days of debate in the legislature, skipping committee stage altogether. Far from normal. Committee is when citizens and experts can weigh in, and MPPs engage with each other. 7/10
In the last 20+ years, a government bill gets about 7 days of debate in the legislature on average (according to political scientist @pejthomas). Bills that impact democracy get much more debate. 8/10
For example: Mike Harris’s PC government debated the #Toronto amalgamation bill for 29 days, including 25 days in committees. 9/10 ow.ly/NoQK30lGe0W
#Bill5 had no direct public engagement, 4 days of debate in the legislature, and zero days in committee. This was not business as usual and threatens to set a dangerous precedent for #democracy in #Ontario. ow.ly/pExs30lGdAM 10/10 #OnPoli #CdnPoli
