OTTAWA, ON: Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) Federal Director Aaron Wudrick released the following statement in response to the Ontario Superior Court's ruling on Bill 5:

"We are disappointed in the court’s decision to overturn Bill 5. While the timing of the bill was not ideal, the City's election period runs nearly six months long and this bill was introduced nearly three months before the election date, which is still longer than federal and provincial writ periods. Waiting an additional four years to reduce the size of city council is a missed opportunity to save taxpayers money.

We also disagree with the court's finding that larger wards necessarily undermine voters' right to effective representation, as Torontonians are already represented at the federal and provincial levels in these larger districts. The appropriate size of municipal electoral districts is a clearly a policy decision, not a question of law, and this determination should rest with politicians not judges.

We encourage the Ford government to appeal this decision immediately."