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rfmcdonaldMost of the boosters of the idea of a Province of Toronto, separate from an fully equal to Ontario ago, are urban activists. This one can't stand living in the same place with Toronto.
These would be very bad boundaries. As I noticed in my review of Andrew Sancton's The Limits of Boundaries back last July, the problem with nearly all city-states these days is that their political boundaries are too small for their metropolitican areas, and that their boundaries keep expanding. A Province of Toronto that doesn't include the suburbs would have horrific logistical problems; a Province of Toronto that included its hinterland would leave Ontario fragmented. Best to leave things alone, methinks.
A Progressive Conservative member of the Ontario legislature says he thinks Toronto should become its own province.
The member for Bruce-Grey-Owen-Sound, Bill Murdoch, made the radical proposition at a meeting of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture.
He said rural Ontario is fighting a losing battle against what he calls "a Toronto mentality."
Murdoch said Toronto decision-makers ignore rural voices and create policies that hurt agriculture and hamper rural food processors.
He said the government's lack of action on the coyote problem and red tape for food producers are just some of the hurdles that Toronto-based decisions create for farming and the rural economy.
Murdoch said making Toronto the 11th province is the only way rural Ontario will get a voice.
He noted Toronto's population, at 2.5 million, tops that of Prince Edward Island at 140,000.
However he wants residents who live in the 905 area code region just outside Toronto to remain part of Ontario.
These would be very bad boundaries. As I noticed in my review of Andrew Sancton's The Limits of Boundaries back last July, the problem with nearly all city-states these days is that their political boundaries are too small for their metropolitican areas, and that their boundaries keep expanding. A Province of Toronto that doesn't include the suburbs would have horrific logistical problems; a Province of Toronto that included its hinterland would leave Ontario fragmented. Best to leave things alone, methinks.
