Charting a New Path:Does Toronto Need More Autonomy?

Across Canada, and particularly in Toronto, calls for increased municipal autonomy and the protection of municipal authority in the Canadian constitution have been getting louder. On November 28, 2019, the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG) convened a public panel discussion in partnership with the Urban Land Institute–Toronto to explore these issues, particularly the question of whether Toronto needs a constitutionally entrenched city charter. These issues have become no less significant following the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, which has revealed the limits of municipal powers and financial resources, while also demonstrating the importance of provincial and federal support for municipalities in difficult times.This paper contextualizes and summarizes the speakers’ remarks to explore whether Toronto needs greater autonomy, and if so, how that might be achieved. The event examined the pros and cons of a constitutional amendment to entrench municipal authority. Bruce Ryder, Associate Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, noted that a single-province amendment being proposed by some groups has been used before to change religious education rights in several provinces, including Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador, and so could be a feasible way to secure more autonomy for Toronto or other cities through a constitutionally protected city charter. Kristin Good, Associate Professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University, defended the need for greater municipal autonomy, but raised concerns with entrenchment of municipal authority in the Canadian constitution. She argued instead for a more flexible option: protecting municipalities in provincial constitutions using “manner and form” provisions that would create a higher bar, such as a two-thirds majority, to amend laws that establish municipal systems. This option, she argued, recognizes both that local government is a provincial matter of jurisdiction and that provinces continue to have an important role to play in governing metropolitan areas and municipal affairs in the interest of the province as a whole. Patricia Wood, Professor of Geography at York University, argued that it is important to consider the quality of local governance and democracy for all residents of the city. If a city charter is a solution crafted by and for the privileged, she argued, it will do little to bridge the city’s growing racialized socio-economic polarization. Finally, Zack Taylor, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Urban Policy and Local Governance at Western University, noted that the American experience shows that constitutional protection of municipalities could make provinces less likely to address urban and metropolitan policy problems. If the major policy challenges found in our cities require the mobilization of all levels of government, we need to increase incentives for collaborative governance, not reduce them.