Toronto city council is taking Doug Ford's provincial government to court.
At a special meeting tonight, council voted 27 to 15 in favour of initiating a legal challenge of Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act, which cuts city council down from 47 to 25 seats.
Mayor John Tory issued a statement after the vote:
"We have instructed City legal staff to challenge this monumental change to our city's governance in the courts. I fully support taking this legal action," said Mayor Tory. "The majority of Council has been very clear about its position as have I as Mayor and the head of the Council: The province's process, which lacked any public input whatsoever, is wrong and unacceptable."
"Challenging this legislation and the process used to introduce it is the right and responsible thing to do."
The City will now take part in the Superior Court hearing on Aug. 31 and any other legal proceedings related to this legislation.
Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford has told politicians from other municipalities across the province that he has no plans to cut their governments. Speaking at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario's annual conference earlier today, Ford said he has been getting questions about whether the province will chop the size of other civic councils.
With files from The Canadian Press