Megacity? Audacity!
An evening with the Citizens for Local Democracy

On the night of Monday, January 13, I realized that politics in Toronto operated no longer in theory but in practice. That night, Holy Trinity Church -- a brick building dwarfed by the chrome of City Hall and the Eaton Centre on either side -- barely contained a gathering of Metro citizens opposed to the provincial government's plan to amalgamate six cities into the MegaCity of Toronto. Essentially, it was the latest meeting of the steering group of Citizens for Local Democracy (CFLD) -- headed by NOW Weekly's City columnist, John Sewell -- but this meeting attracted hundreds of people, filling not only every seat but the aisles as well.

It was a diverse crowd. High school kids sat next to senior citizens and, while some of the crowd were seasoned political junkies -- media types, local politicos, student activists -- a larger number seemed a bit out of place -- middle-class-homeowner types too busy working and raising children to be hanging out at this week's protest rally with the International Socialists. Nevertheless, it was clear that this day's start of 'MegaWeek' -- the nickname for the Tories' series of swift, brutal changes to education, welfare and local services -- had their backs to the wall. For a people often described as polite-bordering-on-frosty, these residents of Metro were charged up and ready for a fight. As one CFLD member declared, "Now they're messing with our kids!"

The crowd heard from a succession of speakers, whose stories combined into one grim narrative: city councils waffling over whether to hold a democratic vote on the future of an area with more people than some provinces. Huge groups of citizens have demanded this vote, and the provincial government have openly stated they'll ignore the results of any vote held. They will continue to push their amalgamation bill through the house by the end of January -- scheduling a mere five and a half hours of debate time -- to make such a vote useless anyway.

It was hard to feel distressed by all this, however, with the infectious optimism filling the church. Janice Eder told the crowd how she got her neighbours involved in the issue by explaining to them how the changes might affect their local service. She was thrilled by the positive results and quipped, "If this can happen in Etobicoke..... miracles happen!" to great applause. It was exciting to see how funny most of the speakers were (earnest Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton notwithstanding) and marvel at how, as always, humour can carry people through the roughest times.

The high (or low) point arrived with actor Eric Petersen, formerly of CBC's 'Street Legal', dressed up and in character as first Toronto mayor William Lyon McKenzie. He delivered an 1837 speech that, he claimed, "still has the same freshness as when I first gave it!" It was indeed inspiring and a fun history lesson as he whipped the crowd into a booing frenzy against the audacity of Al Leach, "Duffer" Harris and the Tory gang. Even Petersen/McKenzie seemed surprised at the crowd's passion: "I did not realize feelings ran that high against the Leach!" Silly stuff, but a big step up from the whining that usually passes for political action these days. Nothing erases fear of what the future like the sight of hundreds of people gathered together to fight for something they believe in.

That's really what the issue is about -- what people believe in. Is it supposed tax savings that drive for 100% efficiency and an eye for the bottom line above all else? Or is it a decent quality of life for all people, everyone having some say in the process and governments that listen, not dictate? Many think the MegaCity seems like a good idea but, without any real debate, who can say one way or the other? In theory, democracy is still a radical concept: give the people all the information and the power to choose who will best serve their best interests. In practice, the people have no say at allóHarrisí campaign platform said nothing about a MegaCity. Once the bill goes through, the power it gives the provincial trustees is retroactive to December 1996 and canít be challenged in court and the implications of this for the future of local democracy are truly frightening.

These people gathered at that church realized this. They've learned that politics is more that just voting and then going back to sleep for four years -- it's a continual process of vigilance and dialogue to ensure that those who seek to lead the people don't succumb to the desire to rule them.

After all, that's just common sense.


(CITIZENS FOR LOCAL DEMOCRACY hotline 416-977-8736, website http://www.geocities.com/c4ld/)