Local Choice for Local Elections Act has been tabled – contact your MPP to give your support.
Yesterday, MPP Mitzie Hunter tabled a Private Member's Bill, the "Local Choice for Local Elections Act", which would bring back the municipal autonomy the government took away with Bill 218, which removed the option of electing local representatives by ranked ballot elections.
As you will remember, Engage's first success at City Hall was to convince Council to allow ranked ballot elections to be a referendum question in our 2022 election – but the province removed that ability, hidden in the omnibus bill, Bill 218 (which was "advertised" as a bill to help deal with the COVID emergency).
Our contributing member Dave Meslin, founder of the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto, said it well:
“In a year when society is finally asking important questions about inclusion, privilege and race, it’s unconscionable that any government would ban a widely-used tool designed to increase diverse representation."
London was the first Ontario municipality to elect for ranked ballot elections, and in 2018 elected the first Black woman to their City Council – and Councillor Arielle Kayabaga is the first to credit ranked ballot elections for her victory.
We are grateful that MPP Hunter has put this Private Member's Bill forward. Please be sure to contact your MPP (visit Contact Your Elected Officials), and encourage them to support this bill!
As MPP Hunter stated:
"Municipalities deserve to decide how they conduct their own affairs, including how the elect their leaders, free from the interference that the Premier and his government have repeatedly run in municipal affairs. The Local Choice for Local Elections Act would put power back in the hands of the people, and allow municipalities the independence and respect that they are due."
