This morning, I was in committee on Bill 39, debating one of the most unsettling and troubling bills that has passed through this Legislature in decades. Bill 39 is an attack on the fundamental tenets of representative democracy, on citizen voice, on citizen say. By giving mayors permission to pass laws with just one third of votes, the Premier has made it clear that representative democracy and majority rule don’t matter much to him. And it won’t just stop in Toronto and Ottawa—minority rule could come to any municipality in Ontario, through regulatory decree.

We are living through a time when democracy is under threat. Who would have thought that the greatest threat to democracy here in Ontario would come from the Premier?

This bill will make Ontario an appalling first. No democratic government across North America makes rules using minority rule except for us.

Bill 39 is an attack on farmland and our greenbelt. We are one of seven regions in the world that grows more food than we need. In this era of climate crisis and food insecurity, our farmland should be expanded, not paved over—but paving over is exactly what this government is doing, by hiving off a section of the greenbelt for development owned by some of the government’s largest PC donors, giving them the opportunity to make untold profit at our expense.

We can do better than this. Homes are for people. Democracy is for all of us. Repeal Bill 39.

My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Last Thursday, we heard from 18 witnesses about Bill 39. Fourteen of those 18 witnesses spoke against the bill. They represent the overwhelming public outcry against this government’s unprecedented attack on local democracy. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario made this very point, saying, “Bill 39 will disenfranchise elected councillors and potentially destabilize and undermine the authority of municipal government.”

AMO is not alone in its understanding of this matter. It has been expressed clearly and repeatedly by countless media outlets, leading scholars, political commentators, and others who care about democracy and good government. Minister, will you listen to Ontarians and withdraw Bill 39?