Mayor Miller's City Hall

Councillors say new rules gag them
Now they have to line up to get the right to pose challenges or questions
By ZEN RURYK, CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

City council got snagged in political gridlock yesterday as some Toronto councillors cried foul over new procedural rules.

At the second council meeting since last fall's municipal election, councillors spent most of the morning wrangling over new rules that govern how they conduct city business.

"It was a mess. Council is becoming more arbitrary -- there is less opportunities to ask questions," Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong complained. "There is less opportunities for the public to learn and know."

The new procedural rules are being used to limit debate, he said.

Councillors now have to line up to inform the person chairing the meeting -- Speaker Sandra Bussin -- that they wish to pose procedural questions or challenges.

Mayor David Miller dismissed the complaints, saying: "There's always shenanigans at council and it's to be expected."

The rules are needed to ensure councillors have a chance to debate issues while preventing them from abusing "the privilege of other members" by just standing up and talking, he said.