Happy Monday, everyone. Some of today’s comments were selected for their openness and kindness toward Slieman al-Jasem, a 21-year-old refugee from Syria turned fisherman and businessman. Other comments were selected because they offer thoughtful, opposing views on Doug Ford’s plan to reduce the size of Toronto’s city council. Globe readers have been following this municipal election story closely and commenting on related articles in large numbers.
Slieman al-Jasem, a 21-year-old refugee from Syria, is learning how to steer a fishing boat while Kendall Dewey sets out gill nets in Lake Ontario around Prince Edward County.JOHNNY C.Y. LAM/The Globe and Mail
From: Syrian refugee, fisherman’s friend: How a retiring couple found a new heir to their Lake Ontario business, by Camilla Cornell
Thanks for this good news story. It’s uplifting on so many fronts, from a couple of mature Canadians accepting the young Syrian man as a son, the young man’s eagerness to learn their business and the benefit the Syrian family will ultimately be to the community.
It’s the immigrant story and it speaks so strongly to me. I’m the descendant of Polish immigrants who came here a century ago and farmed some very inhospitable land while raising a family that would go on to bring honour to their adopted country. Thank you! - daledaledale
Genuine refugees are vetted and usually selected based on their likely ability to succeed in Canada. That's the way it should be. Congrats. - Richard231
In response to Richard231:
Actually, I believe that immigrants are selected in part on their ability to succeed, and refugees are assessed on humanitarian grounds. That said, most genuine refugees are desperate to rebuild lost lives and often do succeed for that reason, to the benefit of both themselves and their new country.
My family came in as refugees from war and violence. It was a hard struggle for many years, but we have all established very good lives and have paid back millions in tax dollars into the system. As a 12-year-old, I asked my father if he ever felt tax rage at having to pay a marginal rate of almost 70% (this was when there were surtaxes on top of taxes), and he told me something I will never forget: “This country welcomed us. It is a good country because it tries to give everybody a chance, not just a few people at the top. Somebody has to pay for that and I am willing to do my share.” - FreshyCat
Awesome. Very proud to read this. - Steverino
Readers are also talking about:
On Friday, July 27, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced he will significantly reduce the number of Toronto city councillors. This news comes just months before the fall municipal election.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Tory forges plan to fight Ford’s council cutbacks, by Kelly Grant
Fundamentally, I believe that the city councillor wards should be aligned with the provincial and federal boundaries. Whether that is 25 or 50 is another matter. I think trying to sell the public on having more politicians in an era where many people are struggling to make ends meet and struggling to keep a roof over their heads was a mistake. That being said, if you wanted to pick the worst possible way to do something like this, it is what the Premier has done. Trying to change the rules while still in the middle of an election is fundamentally wrong. It is more than likely illegal, given the complete lack of due process and impacts the political representation of every voting person in the city. The provincial government may have the legal right to change laws surrounding municipalities, but that right comes with clear cut obligations. - r2marsharye
The call for a referendum would have more validity if Tory had advocated for it last year, when council voted to increase the size of council. As the saying goes, turkeys will never vote for Thanksgiving. Any legal challenge is doomed to fail and a total waste of taxpayer money. City councillors have become far too complacent. Many of them just “phone it in”, sure of their jobs for life. It’s time to thin the herd. - AdamTGAM
I doubt that there is a political stance that Toronto Council could take that would cause Ford to change his mind. I wonder about the legal side of things. As premier with a majority of seats, he’s more or less a dictator and the city exists according to the whims of the province. However, the 25 seats of the Federal/Provincial ridings give a clear advantage to suburban ridings. It’s a gerrymander. I wonder what a judge would say about that. - CAnneS
It is not a question of jurisdiction. The municipalities are clearly creatures of the provinces. If the province wants to make these changes for the following election, it can. That isn't the issue. The issue is whether government, at any level, has a right to change the rules in the middle of an election after candidates have already filed to run, raised money, and begun campaigning.This is a Charter issue, under s. 3. The right to vote isn't merely about casting a ballot on the day. It is about the overall integrity of the electoral system. It is the rights and expectations of every citizen that must be protected.
The proposed change is wildly outside the norms of government conduct in a democracy. It is what you would expect in an authoritarian dictatorship with sham elections. It is contempt for democracy.Obtaining an injunction to protect the rights of the voters under s. 3 of the Charter, if not also under s. 2(b), should be the course pursued by the City, by every candidate who as already filed papers, and by the entire class of voters affected by the changes. Provincial jurisdiction does not trump fundamental democratic rights under the Charter. - OldBanister
In response to OldBanister:
The electoral system set the deadline - three months before voting day. There is nothing wrong with the electoral system. It is not under threat. Those wishing to thwart government legislation introduced within the legal timeline are the ones who are undemocratic. Being caught politically unaware is not grounds for overturning this. - moon howler
From: Why Toronto should go to court over Ford’s proposal to truncate democracy by David Butt
Like it or not, agree with it or not, this is a very well-written article. Thank you. Great debate as a result. - Jennifer1402
Authoritarianism is tempting to bullies. Ford appeals to an abstraction called “the people”, whose will he pretends to embody, but he ignores the people who actually exist. - Rick Taves1
Ford’s proposed action may indeed be a blunt instrument set to utterly destroy our precious democracy, as Mr. Butt suggests. However, it may also be a fine surgical instrument representing a much needed adjustment to what our so-called democracy has mutated into being. All I’ve experienced is this: once elected, our precious guardians of democracy tend to undergo a magical metamorphosis: suddenly, they rarely pay attention to the voter and tend to do what they and particularly their party and/or backroom backers want them to do. The same attitude is a constant factor in the bureaucracy, by the way, which could really use a good shakedown too. Never mind a few seats on city council. Our ‘democracy’ badly needs an overhaul so it is not run by an increasingly large number of opportunistic autocrats - Golbu
Thank you for this article, David Butt. The strong scent of authoritarianism and election interference is frightening. The Conservative party, after ousting Brown, has given us an uninformed, dangerous man. They must deal with this undemocratic, vengeful man in same way. Where is Bill Davis when we need him? - Happ7
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