AD wrote:"Each Toronto voters vote is worth less. They're ability to express themselves is diminished."
How?
Senate. I admit I don't know what Ford actually decided to do in detail.
He's taking representation in Toronto from something like 60k people per rep to 110k, which is much more than anywhere else in the province. Which, I agree, does not really diminish their ability to express themselves on the surface.
The ruling touched on this after the whole freedom of expression thing you guys don't seem to find very convincing. What the argument amounts to is people have the right to express themselves through their elected representatives. The best data made available to the court, keeping in mind the province didn't bother to provide any data, was the study that led to the initial expansion of city Council from uh, 42 to 47 or something. That study looked at how effective representation would be at current levels and the levels Ford wants, and concluded that more representation was needed to be effective.
It's kinda interesting because he went out of his way to say that the right to municipal elections/representation is not guaranteed. But if it is offered, it must be fair and effective to not infringe upon representation. Ie, if the province provides us with the ability to express ourselves through our elected municipal official, they have to do it in a way that our officials can adequately represent our voice. That's why it's argued under freedom of expression and not some other area. I think this relates less to our votes and more to the day to day representation that local government provides.