ssiguy2
Senior Member
Vancouver is holding a transit referendum this March but I'm not sure if it's going to pass.
How so? The referendum would be put in place by the existing Parliament, or in a municipalities place, by it's council. That's not equivalent to a referendum on secession at all.
We did have a referendum in 2007 on Ontario electoral reform. The parliament of the day set it up. If it passed, the new government was to pass the new law. It didn't, so nothing changed.
It's not like some thirty party would hold a referendum, and then expect the government to fall-in-line.
We might not need one.
Some councillors are echoing the statements here that the Eglinton portion of Smarttrack should be LRT
https://nowtoronto.com/news/city-hall/john-tory's-smarttrack-under-fire/
If the parliament of the day set up the rules of a referendum, then the next parliament could just as easily pass a law that ignores the previous law.
How so? The referendum would be put in place by the existing Parliament, or in a municipalities place, by it's council. That's not equivalent to a referendum on secession at all.
Because the Legislature never has to listen to a referendum result, even a referendum it organized through law. If QP set up a referendum, and there was 100% turnout and everyone voted one way, QP could always just ignore the result for any reason it wanted. So, in a legal sense, it's not binding.
It's kind of like the fixed election date laws in Ottawa, Parliament can't bind itself to do anything through legislation. Even the same Parliament.
In a majority of Canadian jurisdictions, the results of referendums are consultative in nature only. However, in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, the results may be binding on the government under specific conditions. In Alberta, the results of a referendum pertaining to the Constitution of Canada are binding on the Legislative Assembly if the majority of ballots cast vote the way on the question stated. In British Columbia, a referendum under the Referendum Act or the Constitutional Amendment Approval Act is binding if more than 50 percent of electors vote one way on a given question. However, the results of a referendum called under either the British Columbia or Alberta Election Act are not binding. In Saskatchewan, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may choose at the time of proclamation whether or not the referendum results will be binding on the government. Where it is determined that the outcome will be binding, the government must adopt the results if more than 60 percent of ballots cast vote the same way, and if at least 50 percent of electors who are entitled to vote actually cast a ballot. It should be noted that when the results of a referendum held anywhere in Canada are deemed to be binding, they are only binding on the government that initiated the referendum.
Is the SmartTrack alignment being duplicative of the the existing Bloor-Danforth subway alignment between Main and Kennedy a valid concern? I've been toying with the idea of converting the existing B-D alignment east of Victoria Park to SmartTrack and extending the alignment to terminate at STC.
The capacity isn't a problem (at least before 2031) if you consider:but I also see the ability to expand track capacity on the Lakshore Line to handle all-day RER, SmartTrack, Rush-Hour commuter service, and long-haul VIA/HSR as being a serious hurdles for the success of both/either GO RER/SmartTrack.