The City of Toronto is looking to add a new councillor based entirely on race, and they may not even be elected.
An item added to the council agenda on Thursday morning looks to ask for “the creation of an Indigenous member of council.”
The issue will go before the Executive Committee chaired by Mayor Olivia Chow next week before going to full council the following week.
The move is being met with horror by some on council, and embraced by others.
Mayor Chow’s office is one of those looking to embrace the idea of a council member chosen by race with no democratic mandate.
“We are always open to exploring new ideas to create a more inclusive city for Indigenous Peoples and all Torontonians. We look forward to receiving the staff report,” said Zeus Eden (he/him), Press Secretary, Office of Mayor Olivia Chow.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Chow’s office was asked specifically if they supported an unelected member of council.
The idea is to have an unelected member of council chosen to represent Indigenous issues. It is a plan that came out of the city’s Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee, which reports to the Mayor as opposed to council.
“City Council request the City Manager to report on the process of creating the Indigenous Member of Council,” reads a recent agenda item addition.
Not everyone is happy about this.
“This place is out of control,” said one councillor.
Now, this idea needs to have a full “jurisdictional scan,” which could come back with the realization that the idea of having a race-based, unelected councillor simply falls out of the jurisdiction of the city. That’s something we have to hope for if we want to retain any pretense of democracy in our country.
Toronto, of course, is a creation of the Province of Ontario and the Ford government isn’t backing this idea.
“People have the right to elect their representatives. We will always support that right,” said Ford government spokesperson Grace Lee.
That’s the right position to take, and one that too few politicians are willing to express in this day and age.
“It’s really concerning that a taxpayer-funded committee thinks it’s appropriate to invent unelected City Council positions based on identity. That’s not how local democracy works. I’m surprised Councillor McKelvie, who sits on that committee, allowed it to get this far,” said Daniel Tate, of watchdog group IntegrityTO.
Ariella Kimmel, executive director A Better City (ABC), said this move shows the priorities in the mayor’s office are misplaced.
“The executive committee should be spending more time focused on the issues that are priorities for the people of Toronto. In these uncertain times they should be laser focused on real measures to help businesses in Toronto deal with the looming threat of Trump’s tariffs. We need real leadership at City Hall right now,” Kimmel said.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Clearly, Chow and her radical staff members inside the mayor’s office see things differently.
Having specific positions set aside based on race is nothing but offensive, even in this era of reconciliation. How many other communities would step forward to claim they need to also have representation in the same way?
Do we need a Black, Chinese, Muslim or South Asian representative who isn’t elected just to ensure some kind of “equity” within the system?
The DEI insanity at Toronto City Hall is well beyond going too far. This is usurping democracy based on a race-based position.
The Toronto area is traditionally thought of as being the land of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, which sold the land in 1787 and moved on. The sale agreement has been revisited several times starting in 1805 and most recently in 2010 when an additional $145 million settlement was reached.
There is no specific First Nation that calls Toronto home, so who would fill this seat? What would be the representative and how would they be chosen?
Those questions appear to be distractions to Mayor Chow who seems mostly interested in playing identity politics above everything else.