Debris continues to fall from the decision by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to effectively halve Toronto City Council, and cancel the election of four Regional Chairs in the October municipal elections.

Toronto City Council took the Government to court, and won. The Judge was scathing in his comments about the province’s passage of the “Better Local Government” Act. “The Province clearly crossed the line,” Justice Belobaba said in his ruling. He called the Ontario legislation “unconstitutional”.

Premier Ford then threatened use of the “Notwithstanding Clause” of the Canadian Constitution to override the court’s decision. That caused a spasm from legal experts and political observers. The Prime Minister, wisely I think, decided to stay out of that fight. The Appeals Court finally settled the legal battle by overturning the lower court’s ruling and approving the province’s direction.

Ford’s Trumpian actions were seen by some observers to be the precursor to his use of the infamous clause in other situations to advance his activist government’s plans. In the case of the Toronto City Council situation, it seemed to be the equivalent of using a bazooka to light a cigar.

In my books, “Getting Cities Right” which I wrote a couple of years ago, I cautioned against the incursion of Trump-like actions and antics seeping across our border. That is exactly what is happening and it does not bode well for politics in this country.

From a larger perspective, the social, cultural and economic realities and importance of towns and cities is so vastly different today than 150 years ago that what might—might—have made some sense then makes no sense today.

This is why local governments have to fight for a greater role and responsibility in today’s complex government diaspora. The handcuffs on Canadian municipalities cannot and should not be tolerated.

Yes, this is revolution. I freely admit that I have moved to that position from the friendlier ‘evolution’ that some preach. I continue to find that many locally elected officials truly do not comprehend the limitations and restrictions on their powers to effectively govern their local communities. Often it is only when their provincial government unilaterally starts to download or sideload responsibilities, or abruptly and arbitrarily download financial obligations or change the traditional financial structure and grants, that the harsh reality comes home to them.

Over the past fifty years, I can think of only one Canadian Prime Minister who really ‘got’ the importance of cities and towns. That was Paul Martin, who as Finance Minister and then as Prime Minister brought in the Federal Gas Tax sharing that has poured billions into municipal coffers. He understood the need to change the tax system in Canada and he supported more consumption taxes for municipalities. Stephen Harper didn’t care a damn about cities, and Justin Trudeau has been disappointing in specific actions to change the tax and/or governance structure and to really help municipalities. The very slow rollout of the much-vaunted infrastructure funding over the past three years has disappointed many municipalities.

I write this editorial to challenge you now because we’re less than one year away from the federal election. What I’m hoping to do is to spark local debate and then action to make the plight of our cities and towns an important discussion point in that federal campaign.

If local communities demand to be a part of that campaign, we can create change. If towns and cities in every corner of the country get local candidates to come to city hall for a debate, or send them a questionnaire with tough questions about working with local governments and maybe even changing the system, then the revolution moves forward. If we can get increased sharing of consumption taxes, then local governments in Canada can finally start to join so many other western democracies that offer alternative (to the property tax) financial resources to help their communities.

Don’t miss this opportunity. Start your thinking and planning now about how to participate in the 2019 federal election. Get your city councillors and mayors to ask residents to become advocates and to challenge federal candidates at the door about the federal government’s interaction with and support for local governments.

We only get this chance once every four years. Don’t miss it.