Sheppard West

Amalgamation happened against people's will and not only in Toronto, but also in Montreal. Its promise of cost savings did not materialize.

It is no secret that Toronto’s amalgamation, perpetrated by the Conservatives, happened against the will of the voters. In Montreal it happened on the same oppositional background under the Liberals. Two decades later, it is clear that the cost savings that were supposed to happen did not, we still do not have a harmonized legislation and corruption has increased, while representation and local democracy weakened.

The story of police understaffing has been somehow dominating the headlines for quite a while. Although there are far more police per capita in Toronto than in London for instance, Toronto police officers are reportedly so “demoralized” that they took a symbolic vote against Chief Mark Saunders.