A few days ago, John Tory put out a press release laying out what he wants to see in the Toronto mayoral debates.  Given all the crap that is going on, with notwithstanding clauses and protests and grandmothers being handcuffed and whatnot, it didn’t get a lot of attention.  It should have.

Tory laid out some of the things he wants to see in the debates in which he will participate.  They are:

• He’s not showing up if organizers permit white supremacists like Faith Goldy and James Sears to participate
• He wants to have some of the other credible mayoral candidates present – even those who have been strong critics of him
• He wants the debates to be as diverse as the city itself, and not just a couple caucasians participating

Jennifer Keesmaat hasn’t insisted on the same sorts of things, to my knowledge.  She wants to exclude other candidates, for example.  That’s wrong.

Yesterday, John Tory got asked about all of this stuff.  What he said is significant [and I’ve edited it for brevity]:

Discussions about debates are taking place [with] my campaign. We have issued, as a campaign, a series of criteria that are fair – and that should apply to all debates. I will not debate in the presence of a couple of candidates that have openly and consistently advocated racism, and white supremacist views.  That has no place in the city, let alone in the debate for the mayoralty.  The second thing that I have said – in light of the fact there are some 35 candidates, I think, running for mayor – these debate organizers should make more of an effort to make sure that that other people are represented.

I’m quite willing to debate. And I look forward to debating. But I believe that having just two [candidates] is not reflective of the fact that other people have spent a lot of time and effort to campaign in good faith. The debate organizers should be making an effort to make sure that some of those people should be represented in the debates that we have. And I am pleased to say that a number of the debate organizers have agreed with that, and I have confirmed my participation in these debates.  

This is another reason why I’m supporting Tory: he isn’t afraid of critics or criticism. And: he won’t give legitimacy, in any way, to bigotry. And: he wants the mayoral campaign to be as multicultural as Toronto is.

Like I say, he’s a good guy. If you live here in the Centre of the Universe™, you should vote for him.

Comments (8)

Show of hands: how many of you expected the Ontario government to lose the constitutional challenge of its Bill 5, which aimed to reduce the size of Toronto’s city council?

No one?

Exactly. No one – no one who has been paying attention, at least – expected Doug Ford’s government to lose.

Municipalities are creatures of provincial legislatures, as we lawyers like to say. Provinces can do anything they want to municipalities – even legislate them out of existence.

But Ford lost. In a scathing decision, Justice Edward Belobaba concluded that the newly-minted Ontario government had violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with their bill. Specifically, the free speech rights of those seeking a seat on city council.

So, chagrined and chastened, Ford and his government decided to invoke section 33 of the Constitution to override Belobaba’s decision. The non abstante provision. The notwithstanding clause.

What does it all mean? Nothing. It means we are precisely at the point we all expected to be at: with a smaller city council here in the centre of the universe.

The only difference, in fact, is this: Doug Ford decided to avail himself of the notwithstanding clause, something the Constitution explicitly permits him to do.

Section 33 was not conjured up by a Québec separatist, either. It was mostly the invention of Alberta PC cabinet minister Merv Leitch. He suggested it to Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, who in turn suggested it to Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chretien, Roy McMurtry and Roy Romanov.

None of them liked it. But they all went along with it. Tories, Grits, Dippers. Everyone was in on it.

So, now we are all where we expected to be: with a Toronto city council that is smaller – and which needed to smaller, in my opinion. The only difference is that a little-used part of the Constitution has been once again used. That’s the honest truth.

And, let’s be honest about something else, too. Not many folks can spell “notwithstanding clause,” let alone feign interest in it. To most normal folks, it is just another case of politicians being preoccupied only with themselves.

And that, to me, is Doug Ford’s biggest problem. Not that he overturned a court decision everyone expected him to win. Not that he used a constitutional provision no one knows about. Not any of that.

No, Doug Ford’s big problem is this: he has done the thing that Canadian voters most dislike – he has put the Constitution back on the agenda. He has sent the constitutional cottage industry into overdrive. He has gotten us talking about the thing that most often divide us. That brings out the worst in us.

Trust me, here. I was privileged and honoured to work for the greatest politician this country has ever seen, Jean Chretien. He didn’t lose a single election in 40 years. He did that, mainly, by saying this: “Vote for me, and we won’t talk about the Constitution.”

Whenever the Constitution would be raised by some politician seeking more power, Chretien would be dispatched to wrestle it back into its cage, like a lion tamer. Canadians loved him for it. (I sure did.)

So: Doug Ford’s mistake wasn’t in overturning a court decision everyone expected him to win. Doug Ford’s mistake wasn’t in pissing off some New Democrat political welfare cases, who (predictably) didn’t want to lose their council seats.

Doug Ford’s mistake wasn’t even invoking section 33, really. Not even that.

No, his mistake was in rousing the Canadian constitutional beast. The beast is now awake, and it is out of its cage, and it is going to start consuming everything in sight. As it always does.

Hands up, anybody who thinks it was a good idea to start talking about the Constitution again.

Didn’t think so.

Comments (23)