{"id":24509,"date":"2011-12-20T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2011-12-20T15:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=24509"},"modified":"2013-01-21T14:07:09","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T19:07:09","slug":"fourth-wall-choosing-when-we-choose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2011\/12\/20\/fourth-wall-choosing-when-we-choose\/","title":{"rendered":"Fourth Wall: Choosing When We Choose"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

This series features highlights from the ongoing exhibit\u00a0<\/em>The Fourth Wall: Transforming City Hall<\/em><\/a>. The exhibit, on now at the\u00a0<\/em>Urbanspace Gallery<\/em><\/a>, considers possible avenues to break down the barriers to participation in civic life that exist at Toronto’s City Hall.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to say that there is room for improvement when it comes to municipal elections. With 51% voter turnout in Toronto\u2019s 2010 race, ideas that enhance voter engagement and increase the accountability of our elected officials should be explored.<\/p>\n

Anyone who has hosted an event before knows that if you want to maximize attendance, you should hold it on the weekend. While Toronto\u2019s elections are held on Mondays, most other beloved city-wide events are held (at least in part) on weekends: the Calvacade of Lights, Pride, Caribana, Nuit Blanche and many, many more. Elections are successfully hosted on weekends in other Canadian cities – Montrealers and Vancouverites cast their ballots on Saturdays.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Non-voters will often tell you that voting doesn\u2019t make a difference. One way to renew their interest is to enhance the connection they perceive between the act of voting and the outcomes they see. Shorter term lengths give citizens the opportunity to evaluate the performance of their elected officials more frequently and improve accountability. This is particularly important in the municipal setting where council can\u2019t fall on a confidence motion (as in the provincial and federal settings).<\/p>\n

Up until 1956, municipal elections were held on an annual basis in Toronto. In an astonishing series of referendums dating from 1912 to 1952, the people of Toronto were asked whether their councillors terms should be extended. The electorate repeatedly rejected the term extension proposition, until 1955 when it was changed to two years and 1982 when it was changed to three. Term extensions are often justified on the basis that council can\u2019t accomplish much in the span of a year. Yet, Toronto\u2019s history is littered with major projects completed during the single year term era \u2013 the Yonge subway line, the Prince Edward Viaduct and the R.C. Harris Water Plant to name a few.<\/p>\n

In 2006, the provincial government made a unilateral move to extend all municipal council terms to four years in a budget bill rider. The result has been less accountability and more voter apathy.<\/p>\n

Have you ever had trouble finding time to vote in civic elections? Would weekend voting improve the odds that you’ll cast a ballot? Are council’s terms too long? Would a shorter term length be productive for the City?<\/p>\n

Image from CTV<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Fourth Wall: Transforming City Hall is on at the Urbanspace Gallery (401 Richmond St. W.) until the end of January. The building is open weekdays, 7am to 7pm, and Saturdays, 9am to 6pm. Curated by Dave Meslin, Research by Hilary Best, Design by Adam Zinzan-Harris.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This series features highlights from the ongoing exhibit\u00a0The Fourth Wall: Transforming City Hall. The exhibit, on now at the\u00a0Urbanspace Gallery, considers possible avenues to break down the barriers to participation in civic life that exist at Toronto’s City Hall. It\u2019s fair to say that there is room for improvement when it comes to municipal elections.Continue reading “Fourth Wall: Choosing When We Choose”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4081,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21759,2],"tags":[18832,1082,31,216,14021,5098,872,19076,19,1576,18834,17588],"class_list":["post-24509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-politics","tag-adam-zinzan-harris","tag-ctv","tag-election","tag-fourth-wall","tag-hilary-best","tag-prince-edward-viaduct","tag-provincial-government","tag-r-c-harris-water-plant","tag-toronto","tag-torontos-city-hall","tag-transforming-city-hall","tag-urbanspace-gallery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFourth Wall: Choosing When We Choose - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2011\/12\/20\/fourth-wall-choosing-when-we-choose\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fourth Wall: Choosing When We Choose - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This series features highlights from the ongoing exhibit\u00a0The Fourth Wall: Transforming City Hall. 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