The City of Toronto this morning received the Ontario Court of Appeal decision on the challenge to Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act, 2018. The court’s majority opinion ruled 3-2 that the legislation that reduced the City’s wards from 47 to 25 in the middle of the 2018 election is constitutional.
The City of Toronto’s Legal staff will now review the decision in detail and report to City Council in October on the ruling. In January 2019, Toronto City Council directed staff “to pursue a leave to appeal application to the Supreme Court of Canada in the event the Province is successful on its appeal at the Court of Appeal.”
As City staff will need time to review the decision – including the dissenting judgement – and draft a report to City Council, staff will not be commenting on the court’s decision today. It does, however, thank the court for their attention and consideration on this matter.