Toronto won't be able to stop province from taking over TTC

Toronto City Council is completely at the whim of the province, we learned, when Premier Doug Ford slashed the size of it in half just months ago. 

Now, the city is being reminded of that powerlessness again as the province discusses uploading management of the TTC to the provincial government. 

In a confidential document retrieved by the Toronto Star, legal experts explain that city council has basically no viable option when it comes to the upload. 

The province, with all its glorious power, can essentially relegislate or redistribute property as it wishes, and it doesn't even need to fairly compensate Toronto. 

In the doozy of a report, experts explain how the province could leave TTC-related debt with the city, or even dissolve the transit agency altogether. 

The only power that can stop the province for good is the federal government, but it'll be choosing its battles carefully as the Liberals gear up for a federal election in 2019. 

While transit advocates, many city councillors and staff oppose the upload, the province says it wants to expand the subway system to outlying GTA suburbs like Pickering. 

Council is voting on Thursday whether to authorize Chris Murray, the city manager, to start discussions with the province. Whether the province will listen, however, is a historical "no."