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(aie) Marcen 30 No Ground for Belief Higher T Involved |l'| Plan. House TOld Minister Charges Day Is Prejudging Proposals - for Absorption of Suburban Areas, Asserting + + L + . * % His Criticisms Are 'Ill--Advised, II!--Timed 1 and III--Informed' and Inferences Unfounded rnedivatas e ce ce e e c ie t crmecyrnrmneracg Wl e ie n aenaenirerinut orminiGreneenrommrmianys A sharp rebuke to Mayor Ralph,George A. Drew, _ Conservative Day for his attitude on the Ontario | Leader, who asked whether the gov-- Government's proposed annexation :: "::_3';' '(;)n't.tehmplated wlA action in of municipalities in suburban To-- je:t known as ;ohe: p;:::;.:t::u';?f. ronto was voiced in the Legislature| Mr. Cross said nothing had been yesterday by Hon. Eric Cross, Mini-- | planned. ster of Municipal Affairs, as he pub-- r'i';ra':: g;oj'gft blwas sttarteid as h' licly censured the mayor for mak-- :aid. "and amu:t io:fine'ff rasse'suche. ing remarks which were "ill--advised, The province has no work scheme ill--timed and ill--informed." in contemplation at present, and Quoting a statement made by |W¢ feel we cannot give preferred M s i. R treatment to any single group in ayor Day in Wednesday's issue of Toronto that could not be made s The Globe and Mail, Mr. Cross ex-- | available throughout the province." s pressed indignation at the mayor'sl sefi u. description of the measure as "legalized piracy," "high--handed," and "dictatorial." "It ill becomes the Mayor of To-- ronto to suggest that the action * taken by this House is any of those things," he said. "The procedure I outlined yesterday was an orderly * one in which all parties might be * \heard. It was decided upon only' after widespread and careful in-- vestigation and study." No Ground for Inference. Mr. Cross charged that the mayor % was pre--judging the issue, and de-- clared that there was no justifica-- tion for his inference that annexa-- tion would bring about an increase in taxes for Toronto citizens. "These are the days in which the ; problems of overgovernment are very much in the foreground," he said. '"We are attempting by a prac-- tical method to reduce government costs, and the best interests of the taxpayers as a whole will be con-- sidered in any such move. There is certainly no justification for the statement that Toronto's taxes will be 'increased by millions.'" The Minister recalled the bitter debate which had accompanied the Windsor amalgamation bill in 1935 iand pointed to its success in justifi-- cation of the government's present course. '"'That has passed into history and Justified itself," he said. "And in place of the resentment which first > greeted it, we find that the Minister of Municipal Affairs at that time | (David Croll) has been returned as member for Windsor and is also mayor of that city." |_ _ Any action that might be taken by the government in connection with the Toronto plan, he said, would be with a view to the future, and the government would proceed only when it was satisfied that the best solution to the problem had been found. s Calls Step Practical. "Insofar as overgovernment is _ concerned," he reiterated, "here is a practical method for eliminating duplication and providing a more economical form of administration In the areas affected." ' In reply to a query from Colonel