Toronto Escorts

Ford's 33 Has No Basis in Law: SCC Precedent

Anbarandy

Bitter House****
Apr 27, 2006
10,088
2,733
113
The general rule of interpretation against retroactive and retrospective operation applies to section 33 of the Charter: section 33 has been interpreted by the Supreme Court as permitting prospective derogation only. If enacting legislation purports to give retrospective effect to an override of the Charter, the legislation is, to that extent, of no force or effect. (Ford, supra; Irwin Toy Ltd. v. Quebec (Attorney General), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 927).

1) Council's 47 ward electoral model has been ruled legal, in force and effect by a court of law.

2) It has been held up on appeal.

3) Ford's Bill 5 has been ruled null and void.

4) Ford's invoking of Section 33 to retroactively quash a election already 'legally underway' will be challenged and most likely lose if SCC precedent is upheld.

5) Cue up the legal challenges.

6) Ford will be left to clean up his chaotic mess as most likely if a 25 ward election is held, the City of Toronto Council will most likely be illegitimate according to law.
 

oldjones

CanBarelyRe Member
Aug 18, 2001
24,495
11
38
Only the Supreme Court can actually rule on this issue. All any of the rest of us (Ford, Tory, the City's elections people, or you and I) can do is propose fallible personal judgments and hope one sticks.

If the City was as pugnacious and vindictive as Ford, I could imagine them declaring that since Bill 5 has been disallowed, and the prospective Bill 31 is just a possibility, so the Election must and shall be conducted under the existing law. That provides for 47 wards and Councillors. They might go on to state that if and when some law like Bill 31 might be passed and receive Royal Assent, it would then be for the Province to take the City to Court to force its desired changes to the Election process already underway, because once that train's left the station it will continue until the Election results are in.

If the Province were to take that step, it would require the Province's lawyers to explicitly argue the crucial point the Premier, the A-G and every spokesperson has been evading since the Superior Curt decision:

"Doesn't matter that you have the lawful right to elect your 47 Councillors by a law this Province approved, and you're in the midst of doing that. We, the new Ontario government have undone that old law, and stuck you with this new one that we wanted you to use from the beginning, even though it was not the law when you got started. That's how we think the Notwithstanding Clause works, so we have added it to our first, failed attempt. Now we're here asking the Court to tell us we've at last got it right, and make you undo what you've done and start over."

Whether that Court might rule the Clause would need to be applied retroactively, given the earlier Charter ruling which must stand until that appeal is heard — or not heard — no one can say. At this late date, no Court can usefully tell the Province to do it right, yet again. The City will have to force the issue, just as Ford did.

Considering we need fewer such people in government, not more, that is regrettable.
 

mandrill

Well-known member
Aug 23, 2001
69,896
68,400
113
I'm not sure if the OP's legal argument is valid.

But, there's also an issue of "unwritten constitutional norms". It's what the Brits do because they don't have a constitution, but still want to protect certain fundamental rights. They say the government can't tamper with fundamental freedoms under any normal circumstances. But this is not an argument that any Canadian court has had to deal with since 1982 because it's all been about the Charter of Rights.

Intervening in a municipal election that's half way in progress would seem to be one such fundamental issue. With a precedent like Ford's, what is to stop a premier from simply cancelling any municipal election where a candidate he doesn't approve of looks to be ahead in the polls? That's verging on Putin style dictatorship.
 

oldjones

CanBarelyRe Member
Aug 18, 2001
24,495
11
38


Intervening in a municipal election that's half way in progress would seem to be one such fundamental issue. With a precedent like Ford's, what is to stop a premier from simply cancelling any municipal election where a candidate he doesn't approve of looks to be ahead in the polls? That's verging on Putin style dictatorship.
Don't I remember a disgruntled Premier years ago declaring their government would make Section 33 part of every law their Province passed? Clearly this one believes shorter Council meetings for a couple of dozen Councillors are more important than everyone's fundamental freedoms and rights, written or unwritten. Once you've used Section 33 for one trivial purpose, why not for any and all? Then why pretend we have protected rights?

If it was me in the Mayor's chair, I'd be pushing to go ahead with the 47 seat Council Election, never mind what comes out of Queen's Park next week, and make his lawyers get the order to stop us.
 

Anbarandy

Bitter House****
Apr 27, 2006
10,088
2,733
113
If it was me in the Mayor's chair, I'd be pushing to go ahead with the 47 seat Council Election, never mind what comes out of Queen's Park next week, and make his lawyers get the order to stop us.
That would take a decisiveness and boldness that has been sadly missing during his tenure as mayor.

I hope he finds these missing qualities and does the just and right for Toronto.
 

Boober69

Well-known member
Feb 23, 2012
6,722
263
83
That would take a decisiveness and boldness that has been sadly missing during his tenure as mayor.

I hope he finds these missing qualities and does the just and right for Toronto.
That would take a decisiveness and boldness that has been sadly missing during his tenure as mayor.

I hope he finds these missing qualities and does the just and right for Toronto.
He is doing the right thing. He’s pretending to be against the reduction to avoid any noise from the left. But he actually welcomes it so he can actually get things done without having to deal with all those self-serving leftist councillors perpetually trying to get their pet projects through.
He’s playing this perfectly.

You don’t think those meetings he had with Doug leading up to the election were to talk about how great bike lanes are do you?
 
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