Protesters concerned about residential evictions in the City of Toronto have called on Mayor John Tory to issue an emergency order barring evictions, but a municipal law expert says the mayor probably does not have that power.
“My view is I don't think he has that kind of authority as under his emergency powers,” municipal lawyer John Mascarin told CP24.com Wednesday.
Tory declared a state of emergency for Toronto in March in order to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency order gives the mayor special powers to do things like issue bylaws without consulting city council. However those powers flow from provincial legislation and are not unlimited.
“Those emergency powers aren't nearly as sweeping as people think that they are,” said Mascarin, who provides legal advice to a number of Ontario municipalities. “And the reason I'm saying that is the emergency powers have to be exercised as long as they're not contrary to law.”
Bill 184, which was passed into law by the Ontario Government on Tuesday, has been the focus of much of the anger, with critics arguing that it will make it easier to evict residential tenants.
“It's the province that passed legislation dealing with tenancies — landlord and tenant matters. So if the mayor were to do something that contradicts or frustrates that, that would be contrary to law,” Mascarin said. “That's in the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, that the powers of the mayor are limited.”
Mascarin said the mayor’s emergency powers relate to carrying out the emergency plan and cannot contradict provincial law.
While protesters have said that Tory could use his emergency powers to stop evictions because they pose a health and safety concern, Mascarin said that would be a stretch.
“I think that then you're running into something quite different. You're talking about contractual relations and things that are covered by the Residential Tenancies Act and I guess, the Commercial Tenancies Act, and I just don't see that the mayor would have that kind of jurisdiction,” he said.
Mascarin noted that one exception might be city-owned properties, where the city is the landlord.
Even if Tory were to try and use his emergency powers beyond their scope to halt all evictions city-wide, Mascarin said, he could easily be overruled by the province.
Tory has said that the city’s lawyers have also advised him that he doesn’t have the power to halt evictions. A more detailed report on the matter by city staff is expected to be complete next week, the mayor said.
